It’s now well established in the UK that local authorities are required to think beyond cost when procuring projects. There is a legal need to consider the wider social, economic, and environmental benefits that their projects can generate for communities. This principle stems from the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, where the act ‘requires public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with public services contracts; and for connected purposes.’
Social Value UK describes social value as the quantification of the importance people place on the changes they experience in their lives. Public sector decisions and commercial activity can affect many aspects of daily life. These include employment, skills, wellbeing, inclusion, and the environment. The key is being clear about what outcomes you are trying to achieve, prioritising what matters, and linking it back to the authority’s wider aims.
What is Social Value in Local Authority Procurement?
Social value in procurement is about maximising the positive impact that projects have. This applies both during delivery and beyond the immediate scope of works. It covers three broad areas:
- Social – improving wellbeing, inclusion, and opportunity;
- Economic – supporting local jobs, skills, and business growth;
- Environmental – delivering sustainable outcomes, and reducing harm.
Rather than focusing only on cost and quality, councils are encouraged to build meaningful community outcomes into their procurement decisions so that every business delivers as much benefit as possible.
The Social Value Toolkit
What it is and how authorities use it?
The Local Government Association’s Social Value Toolkit provides a framework for councils to embed social value into procurement and contract management. It includes templates, guidance and, links to national measurement systems like the TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, and Measures) framework, developed with the National Social Value Taskforce.
The TOMs framework helps local authorities and suppliers to define social value objectives. It allows the identification of measures that demonstrate delivery (e.g. number of jobs created, carbon reduction outputs, local spend) and seeks to track outcomes consistently across contracts.
Councils use this toolkit to set up:
- Social value policies and statements,
- Evaluation criteria weighting social value alongside cost, and quality,
- Measurement and reporting processes to track delivery over the contract lifecycle.
Different councils sometimes adapt the toolkit to local needs. For example, setting minimum social value percentages on linking targets to local employment needs, or focusing on environmental outcomes such as carbon reduction.
Is the toolkit useful?
Arguably, it gives councils a consistent starting point and shared measures, but it is a framework, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Authorities still need to tailor social value ambitions to local strategies and ensure that targets are specific, proportionate, and measurable in the context of each procurement.
What Can Companies do to Demonstrate Social Value Effectively?
For suppliers and contractors, perfect social value proposals are those that align closely with the authority’s priorities and can be measured and evidenced.
- Understand local priorities
Start by researching the council’s social value priorities. These might be published in their procurement strategy, social value statement or local economic plan. Tailor your social value commitments to those priorities (e.g., jobs in deprived areas, skills, and apprenticeships).
Example: committing to a measurable number of local apprenticeships or hours of community training.
- Be specific and measurable
Generic claims about “promoting wellbeing” are less effective than specific commitments. For example:
- “Create 10 new apprenticeships over 24 months”
- “Source 30% of supply chain spend from local SMEs”
- “Deliver 1,000 hours of community volunteering in the contract area”.
These link directly to measurement frameworks like the TOMs.
- Go beyond compliance
Authorities are increasingly scrutinising delivery as well as commitment. Companies that can show exemplar past performance or case studies of social value delivery especially with data will stand out more.
At Chawton Hill, we worked alongside the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames to support projects that increased social value across the borough. Through the Transform Kingston programme, a major regeneration initiative, we were involved in giving new life to underused spaces. In 2022, we carried out the fit-out design and transformation of a former nightclub into modern office space. The project helped create space for 500 new jobs, boosting the local economy and providing opportunities for businesses and charities within the community.
Examples of Social Value
Councils have used social value to achieve a wide range of positive outcomes:
- Jobs, skills, and employment: creating local jobs, offering apprenticeships, providing work experience, or supporting disadvantaged groups into employment.
- Developing the local economy: local supply chain spends, mentoring local small businesses, or partnering with voluntary, community, and social enterprises.
- Healthier, safer, and more resilient communities: staff volunteering, fundraising, supporting community initiatives, or working with local groups to address local challenges.
- Protecting and improving the environment: sustainable procurement commitments, reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions, and taking steps that support air quality and public health.
Conclusion
Social value in local authority is a central part of how business contracts are designed, evaluated, and delivered. The LGA’s Social Value Toolkit and the TOMs measurement framework give councils and suppliers a structured way to define, measure and report social impact.
For companies, social value offers a competitive advantage when done well: understanding local needs, making measurable commitments, and delivering against them will help strengthen reputation. It also helps organisations demonstrate genuine community benefit creating shared value. Ultimately, done well, a strong commitment to social value should help a business win more work and bring benefits to communities and projects alike.
At Chawton Hill, we aim to add social value to our procurement strategy on projects, ensuring that every project delivers meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits. We work closely with clients and local authorities to embed measurable outcomes throughout the project lifecycle. To find out more about how we approach community led projects, visit our Communities page, or get in touch with our team to discuss your next project.