Social value guide

Social value in public sector tenders

Most public tenders now ask what social value you will deliver, and the answer is often worth a tenth of the total score or more. It is also the question small firms most often leave until last. This guide explains the rules, how answers are marked, what good looks like for a business your size, and how to build the evidence that makes it easy.

Last checked: 6 October 2026

What social value is

Social value is the extra benefit a contract brings to people and places beyond the work itself: jobs and training, fair pay, opportunities for local and small businesses, a smaller environmental footprint. Central government's newest policy, PPN 026, defines it as taking account of “how a supplier will work for our communities to provide good British jobs, skills and opportunities in every postcode”.

Two ideas run through all the official guidance. Social value has to come from this contract, and it has to be over and above the job you are being paid to do (guide to using the Social Value Model). Cleaning a building well is the contract; recruiting the cleaners from people who have been out of work is social value.

Why it matters to a small firm

  • It is worth real points. Central government gives it at least 10% of the total score on contracts above the thresholds (PPN 002), and other buyers set their own weighting in each tender.
  • Size is not the test. Central government scores the quality of your plan, not the volume you promise, so a credible plan from a small firm can beat a big number from a large one (how it is scored).
  • Small firms already do a lot of it. Training a local apprentice, paying fairly, buying locally: the gap is usually in planning and evidencing it, not doing it.

The key dates

DateWhat happened
2012Public Services (Social Value) Act: authorities must consider social value before procuring services above the thresholds
February 2025PPN 002 published with a new central government Social Value Model; Procurement Act 2023 in force on 24 February
1 October 2025PPN 002 mandatory for central government procurements: minimum 10% weighting
5 August 2026PPN 026 published: a new model focused on jobs and skills
1 January 2027PPN 026 applies to central government procurements of £1m or more: 10%, or 20% from £5m

Sources: Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, PPN 002, PPN 026 and the government's announcement of 5 August 2026. Councils, the NHS and the devolved nations have their own rules: the rules across the UK covers them.

Five things that are commonly said and wrong

  • “PPN 06/20 is the current model.” It was replaced by PPN 002, and PPN 026 follows from 2027.
  • “The bigger the number, the higher the score.” Not in central government: volumes are not evaluated.
  • “Our CSR policy covers it.” Corporate policies are not contract-specific and do not score on their own.
  • “Social value is 20% now.” Only from 1 January 2027, only in central government, only from £5m.
  • “PPN 026 applies to councils.” It applies to central government; other bodies may choose to follow it.

The guide in six parts

Part 1The rules on social value across the UKThe Social Value Act, the central government Social Value Model and its 2027 replacement, the NHS, councils, and the different laws in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with what each means for a supplier.Part 2How social value is scoredWeightings, scoring scales and the arithmetic that turns a social value answer into points, why quality of method usually beats a big number, and what evaluators are told to look for.Part 3Social value worked examplesWeak and strong answers side by side for small firms in different trades, with the points each would earn and why.Part 4Building a social value track recordWhat to start doing and recording now, the recognised schemes worth joining, and how to keep evidence a buyer will believe.Part 5Writing a social value answerA structure for the answer, the language that scores and the language that does not, commitments you can keep, and how to report on them once you win.Part 6Social value links and resourcesEvery official source and recognised scheme referred to in this guide, with what each is for and whether it costs anything.

Short of time? Social value for small businesses is the five-minute version.

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Common questions

Social value

What is social value in procurement?

The wider economic, social and environmental benefit a public contract brings beyond the work itself. Central government's 2026 policy defines it as taking account of how a supplier will work for our communities to provide good British jobs, skills and opportunities in every postcode. In a tender it is usually a scored question asking what you will commit to deliver through the contract.

Is social value a legal requirement?

For buyers, partly. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires public authorities to consider social value before procuring services above the thresholds, and central government departments must give it a minimum weighting under Cabinet Office policy. For suppliers, it is not a legal duty, but it is often worth 10% or more of the score.

What changed in social value in 2026?

On 5 August 2026 the government published PPN 026, a new Social Value Model for central government from 1 January 2027. It applies to contracts of £1 million or more including VAT, focuses on good jobs and skills, and raises the minimum weighting to 20% for contracts of £5 million or more. The government said the £1 million threshold means the rules do not typically apply to the work smaller firms bid for.

NextThe rules on social value across the UK