Social Value

What is Social Value?

Social Value is the wider benefit gained by a local community from the delivery of public contracts or services.

These benefits include:

employment
training
strengthened civil society
improvements to the local environment
mitigation of the climate risk

How does Social Value fit into Community Wealth Building?

Social Value plays an important role in Community Wealth Building as it is a measure of the benefits a democratic economy can bring to communities in addition to financial metrics.

Examples of Social Value may be the skills gained by young apprentices from an area or the wellbeing gained by communities from having access to greener spaces or organically sourced produce. These things hold great importance, but aren't always as easy to quantify in the same way as financial value.

What is Preston City Council doing to add Social Value?

Social Value is a key element of progressive procurement, defined primarily by the UK Social Value Act 2012.

In practice we believe Social Value can play a part in everything organisations like Preston City Council do.

As part of our commitment to Social Value we are:

Including a community benefit/social value policy within the Local Plan to encourage all developments above an agreed threshold to maximise social value
Ensuring that all qualifying new housing developments deliver an Employment and Skills Plan
Seizing new funding opportunities, including central government programmes, for apprenticeships, training and skills development
Exploring options for staff to contribute to mentoring and volunteering programmes
Building on the experience of partnership working with voluntary, community and faith groups during the pandemic to support the further development of this sector
Engaging with representatives of civil society including the newly formed Preston Chapter of Citizens UK and local trade unions
Developing a Climate Action Plan and implementing measures to reduce the carbon footprint of the Council

Where can I find out more information?

For more information on Social Value visit Social Value UK - what is social value.