FAQs

Social Value in Public Procurement: Why It Matters

Social value as defined through the Public Services (Social Value) Act (2013) refers to the wider benefits to society that can be achieved when purchasing goods, services, or works. When applied to procurement, it’s about achieving maximum value for every pound spent, not just economically but also socially and environmentally. 

According to the UK Government’s Guide to Using the Social Value Model, “the huge power of public money spent through public procurement every year in the UK must support government priorities, to boost growth and productivity, help our communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and tackle climate change. There should be a clear ‘golden thread’ from these priorities to the development of strategies and business cases for programmes and projects, through to procurement specifications and the assessment of quality when awarding contracts.”

The Procurement Act 2023 builds on this foundation, representing the most significant reform to UK public procurement law in decades. It replaces the patchwork of EU-derived regulations with a single, consolidated framework and places social value at its heart, requiring contracting authorities to consider how procurement can deliver broader public benefit, not just price and quality. For public sector buyers, the Act reinforces the expectation that suppliers demonstrate measurable social, economic, and environmental outcomes, making robust social value measurement and reporting more important than ever.