Social value in tenders: what buyers ask and what to write

Social value in tenders is the extra benefit a contract delivers beyond the goods or services themselves: local jobs and skills, a smaller environmental footprint, community activity. Buyers can score it as part of the tender. For central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, PPN 002 requires at least 10% of the total score (or an equivalent) for social value in above-threshold procurements started under the Act on or after 1 October 2025, where it is relevant and proportionate. It does not apply below threshold. Councils and others set their own approach.

A good small-firm answer is relevant to the contract, measurable, in proportion to the contract’s size, and, in our view, additional to what the specification already requires. If you have seen “social value (10%)” in a tender and assumed it is only for big firms, it isn’t. This guide is part of our guide to winning public sector contracts.

What “social value” means in a tender

In tender language, social value is the additional social, economic or environmental benefit that can come from the way a supplier works (PPN 002, para 15). Government guidance says award criteria can cover wider social, economic and environmental benefits, such as jobs, skills, waste and net zero, as long as they relate to the contract and meet the tests in section 23 (assessing competitive tenders, paras 9 and 18).

The key words are “relate to the contract”. A buyer cannot score you on your general good works. It scores what you will do on this contract.

The rules behind the question

Different buyers have different sources for their social value questions. Knowing which applies tells you how much weight to expect.

Central government: PPN 002 and the Social Value Model

PPN 002 applies to central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (para 3). It excludes private utilities and certain Ministry of Defence contracts.

Three points matter to a bidder:

• Minimum weighting. At least 10% of the total score, or an equivalent measure, for above-threshold procurements, where social value is relevant and proportionate (paras 6-8, 10). It does not apply below threshold.
• Start date. It is mandatory for procurements commenced under the Procurement Act 2023 on or after 1 October 2025. Before that, buyers could use the earlier PPN 06/20 during the transition (para 7).
• The model. PPN 002 updates the Social Value Model, which provides a model question and a menu of award criteria and sub-criteria. Buyers pick a relevant outcome and refine it to fit the contract (para 13).

Four more details from PPN 002 help you plan:

• Where a buyer scores price and quality using an absolute method, such as price per quality point, the 10% applies to the non-price (overall quality) score (para 10).
• Social value is assessed on a qualitative basis against the chosen criteria (para 13(c)). A person reads and judges your wording, so be specific.
• Roles created locally to perform the contract must be advertised in local job centres through the government’s Find a Job website, under a standard contract clause (para 12).
• Buyers must avoid placing unnecessary burdens on suppliers, and must consider the barriers that small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises face in taking part (para 9).

Councils and other public bodies: the Social Value Act 2012

PPN 002 is for central government. Other authorities may apply it if they choose (para 3), but they are not required to.

Councils and other relevant authorities have a separate duty under section 1 of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It applies to services contracts above the threshold (and light touch contracts at or above the ordinary goods and services thresholds (s.1(16)–(17))), in England and for non-devolved bodies in Wales. Welsh devolved authorities are exempt. Before starting the procurement, the buyer must consider how it might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area. They need only consider matters relevant to the procurement, and how far it is proportionate to do so. Procuring goods or works alone is outside the duty, and so are below-threshold purchases, so it does not cover every council buy. Since 24 February 2025 the section refers to the Procurement Act 2023.

That duty is about considering social value. It does not set a weighting. So a council’s scoring table might give social value 10%, 20% or something else. Read the pack, not the press release.

The national procurement policy statement

Contracting authorities must have regard to the national procurement policy statement (s.13(9)), with some exceptions, including devolved Welsh and transferred Northern Ireland authorities. It is the government’s statement of strategic procurement priorities. You do not need to read it to answer a social value question, but it is one more reason buyers ask.

The limit: relate to the contract and be proportionate

Whatever the source, award criteria must relate to the subject-matter of the contract, be sufficiently clear, measurable and specific, and be a proportionate means of assessing tenders (s.23(2)). A buyer asking for a social value commitment that has nothing to do with the contract, or that is out of scale with a small contract, would be hard to square with s.23(2). Your best answers sit well inside that line.

Where you’ll find social value in a tender

Only 7 of 470 live notices mentioned social value in the notice text (as of 10 Oct 2026, covering the week to that date, from our own data; how we count). That does not mean the other 463 have no social value question. It means the notice text may not say, and any detail will be in the tender documents, if there is one.

So open the pack and look at the scoring table or evaluation section. If social value is scored, you will see a weighting there. Check this before you decide to bid, because a 10% question is a real chunk of the marks. Our tender eligibility checker is coming soon. Until then, tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon.

What a strong small-firm answer looks like

Relevant to this contract and this place

Tie the commitment to what the contract does and where. If you are cleaning a leisure centre, a work placement in facilities and cleaning is relevant. A donation to an unrelated charity isn’t. Name the area, the site or the service users where you can.

Measurable: number, timescale, how you’ll report

“We support local communities” cannot be scored. “Two paid work placements of 8 weeks each, offered to local residents, with hours reported quarterly” can (a hypothetical wording, not a recommended number). For every commitment, give a number, a timescale and a way you will evidence it. Award criteria must be clear, measurable and specific (s.23(2)), so measurable answers are easier for the buyer to mark.

Proportionate to the contract’s size

Scale your offer to the contract. Picture a hypothetical £60,000 grounds contract with a 5-person crew: it cannot sensibly promise ten apprenticeships. Over-promising scores badly if the evaluator doubts it, and it can hurt you later if it becomes a contract obligation. A modest commitment you will definitely deliver is better than an impressive one you will not.

Additional: beyond what the contract already requires

PPN 002 describes social value as additional benefit from the way a supplier works (para 15). Our advice: offer something on top of what the specification already requires. Paying the minimum wage or meeting legal health and safety duties is the baseline, not an extra. Check the specification for what is already required, then offer something more.

Examples you can adapt (by type)

These are fill-in templates, not claims about what scores well. Scoring depends on the buyer’s question and the contract. Replace each [placeholder] with your own real figure, and only promise what you can deliver.

Employment and skills

• “We will offer [how many] [apprenticeship / work placement] places on this contract, open to [local group or area], each lasting [how many] weeks, and report [hours or outcomes] to you [quarterly].”
• “We will advertise [how many] vacancies on this contract through [local jobcentre / college / community group] before advertising more widely.”

Local supply chain

• “We will buy at least [percentage]% of [materials / subcontracted work] on this contract, by value, from suppliers within [distance] of [site or area], and report the figure [quarterly].”

Environment

• “We will reduce vehicle miles on this contract by [percentage]% against [baseline we will state] by [grouping visits / route planning / using lower-emission vehicles], measured by [mileage logs], and report [frequency].”
• “We will send at least [percentage]% of waste from this contract for recycling or reuse, evidenced by [waste transfer notes].”

Community

• “Our team will give [how many] volunteering hours to [type of local organisation] during the contract, delivered by [date] and evidenced by [sign-in sheets / photos].”

Write each commitment in the buyer’s own terms. If the model question asks about a particular outcome, such as skills or the environment, answer that outcome, not the one you find easiest. Leave out any pound value per outcome unless the buyer has given you a method for it.

Delivering and reporting what you promised

Winning is not the end of the social value work. Under PPN 002, social value commitments made during the procurement must be reflected in the contract as contract terms, key performance indicators, or performance indicators (para 11). That is for in-scope central government. Other buyers may handle it differently, so read the contract terms.

Practical habits:

• Name one person who owns each commitment.
• Start tracking from day one of the contract, not at the first report date.
• Keep evidence as you go: timesheets, invoices, sign-in sheets.
• If something is going to slip, tell the buyer early.

This is not legal advice. If you are unsure whether a commitment is binding, ask the buyer and take advice before you submit.

Common mistakes

• Generic statements. “We are committed to the community” has no number and no deadline.
• Unrelated activity. A commitment that does not connect to the contract’s subject-matter will struggle under s.23.
• Unmeasurable promises. If you cannot say how you will count it, the buyer cannot score it.
• Over-promising. Do not offer what you cannot staff or fund, and do not count things you already do for every customer as new.
• Treating it as an afterthought. If it is worth 10% of the marks, give it proportionate time. See how social value is weighted in scoring.

For council work specifically, see social value in council contracts, and for the rest of the response, how to write a tender response.

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