Social Value Policy

In practice this policy will be applied as follows:

1) As a minimum, all officers undertaking procurements over £100,000 will be required to consider

a. if and how what is being procured could improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area in accordance with the Council Corporate Strategy and

b. how social value elements could be included as part of the specification and as part of the scoring and evaluation process.

2) The council must ensure that, in accordance with Section 1(6) of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, Social Value elements are included only where they are relevant to what is being procured, and that the Social Value elements are proportionate. They must also be such so as not to discriminate against bidders from outside of the local area.

3) The standard weighting for Social Value will be a minimum 15% of the overall evaluation score for all Contracts above £100,000. This shall exclude Consultancy and IT contracts which should be considered on a case by case basis. Where it is feasible and beneficial, the SV weightings may be higher than the specified minimum.

Approval for proposed evaluation criteria and weightings shall be obtained in accordance with the thresholds included in the Council’s Contracts Procedure Rules. Where it is believed that the nature of the procurement may not realise sufficient social value to justify the standard minimum weighting, then Cabinet or EMD approval for the recommended approach will be sought. Further competition procurements conducted through framework agreements will need to comply with the framework process including evaluation criteria boundaries.

4) For relevant contracts the council may require potential suppliers to submit details on how they will deliver social value through delivery of the contract across the five following areas:

• promoting local skills and employment (job
• supporting growth of responsible regional business (business)
• creating healthier, safer and more resilient communities (social)
• decarbonising and Safeguarding our World (environment)
• promoting social innovation (innovation)

5) The National Social Value Measurement Framework (the ‘National TOMs’) as agreed by the Local Government association, will be used to embed Social Value into the procurement process, and to contract manage its delivery through regular data entry and reporting. The council has partnered with the Social Value Portal to help support and facilitate this process

6) The National TOMs Framework contains 5 principal issues or ‘Themes’, 20 core ‘Outcomes’ and 48 core ‘Measures’ (‘TOMs’):

• themes - overarching strategic themes
• outcomes - objectives or goals that will realise the delivery of the themes
• measures - specific and measurable initiatives or activities that can be delivered to achieve the outcomes.

The National TOMs Framework is designed to provide Measures that suppliers can deliver as part of their local authority contracts. A customised lite version of the National TOMs will be used to measure the additional Social Value generated through the council's procurement process. Larger Strategic procurements may use a customised version of the full core set of National TOMs. View more information on the TOMs framework.

7) Supporting and Encouraging the Local Supply Chain, VCFS and SME’s

Spending money locally generates value across our supply chain and effectively delivers it to local people. A higher proportion of money re-spent in the local economy means more income is retained locally, resulting in more jobs and potentially higher pay. All of these outcomes may lead to better living standards for local people

It is therefore important that we place appropriate value on the spending of money in our local economy. To do this, where the market and the law allows, we will aim to target our procurement spend towards Lancashire based organisations. We will do this by:

• inviting at least one local supplier wherever possible when inviting quotations. This has been built into, and is a requirement, of the Council's Contracts Procedure Rules.
• training and raising awareness with all officers who may be involved in the procurement process of the importance of understanding and proactively engaging with the local market.
• using simple streamlined, template procurement documents.
• advertising tenders and inviting quotes using the regional, easy to access and free of charge, regional e-portal, The Chest. 
• maintain a procurement information area on the council's website including a link to the Chest and a "How to" guide for contractors and suppliers.
• pay our suppliers promptly and ensure prompt payment down the supply chain.
• consider reserving the procurement by supplier location and for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) / Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) as provided for in Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 11/20 where appropriate and relevant to do so. In such cases, approval will be obtained in accordance with the Council's Contracts Procedure Rules

8) Contractualisation of Social Value Offers

Once a procurement is concluded the winning bidder’s social value offer shall be “contractualised”, i.e. it will be incorporated in the contract documentation as part of the service the supplier is required to deliver. The council contract manager shall monitor and report on these periodically as part of the contract management process to ensure the benefits are delivered.

9) This policy will be communicated to all staff, providers and partners. It will be published and promoted on the Tenders and Contracts area of the council’s website and a link to the policy shall be included in the council’s template tender documentation, providing a clear guide to bidders as to our aims and objectives and how they can offer social value in their bid submission.

10) A Social Value Toolkit will be developed and published in the coming months outlining the council’s approach to achieving Social Value for residents and communities and providing support, information and guidance to suppliers when considering working with the council and bidding for council contracts.