Cabinet Office Social Value in Government Procurement

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The requirements proposed in this consultation will apply to all Central Government Departments, their executive agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies when undertaking procurements which are subject to Part 2 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 already places a requirement on relevant contracting authorities to consider, in respect of procurement for services (a) how the economic, environmental and social well-being of the relevant area may be improved by what is being procured and (b) how, in conducting the procurement, they might act with a view to securing that improvement.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 expressly allow contracting authorities to incorporate social and environmental aspects into specifications, award criteria and contract conditions, where these are linked to the subject-matter of the contract, proportionate to what is being procured or provided, and will not result in unequal treatment of bidders.

It will strengthen government’s overall commercial approach on key policies, such as levelling the playing field for SMEs and social enterprises to bid for public contracts, as it provides a clear and systematic way to evaluate these policies in the award of a contract.