UK Government to increase social value requirements when seeking government work

Businesses in the UK seeking to win government work must set out how they will also deliver on the government’s social value priorities, reports The Construction Index.

The changes mean that, from 1^st January 2021, central government will now be required to go further than the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 to ensure that all major procurements explicitly evaluate social value, where appropriate, rather than just consider it.

The social value model on which departments will assess contracts includes:

• supporting Covid-19 recovery, including helping local communities manage and recover from the impact of Covid
• tackling economic inequality, including creating new businesses, jobs and skills, as well as increasing supply chain resilience
• fighting climate change and reducing waste
• driving equal opportunity, including reducing the disability employment gap and tackling workforce inequality and promoting community integration.

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