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Write social-value requirements as contract-specific outcomes, not as a pasted list of good intentions. Identify the public-procurement regime and commencement date, choose outcomes connected to the works, test them with the market, publish the question and scoring method, and turn the winning commitments into measurable contract obligations.
For central-government procurements, the applicable policy matters. Cabinet Office PPN 002 Social Value Model and Guide were updated on 5 March 2025. PPN 026 was updated on 5 August 2026 and is scheduled to apply to covered central-government procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027. PPN 026 sets minimum social-value weightings of 10% for covered contracts from £1 million to under £5 million and 20% for covered contracts of £5 million or more. Those thresholds are not universal rules for every UK authority or private client.
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Start with the applicable procurement regime
Before drafting a question, establish who is buying, which procedure is being used, the estimated total contract value (including VAT where the applicable rules require it), and when the procurement is commenced. Record the answer in the procurement strategy and use it to identify the policy and legal duties that apply.
Central-government scope is not the same as a UK-wide rule
PPN 026 applies to the central-government bodies and covered procurements described in that note. It contains exclusions and a commencement provision. An authority outside that scope may choose to adopt a similar approach, but it should not describe PPN 026 thresholds as mandatory unless its procurement is actually covered. A private construction client can use the same design principles voluntarily, while still checking its own contractual, equality and competition obligations.
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PPN 026 is scheduled to apply to covered central-government procurements commenced from 1 January 2027. For covered procurements under the Procurement Act 2023 commenced before that date, the note encourages organisations to transition to the new edition. It also allows use of the prior edition during transition where adopting the new edition would require disproportionate resources or invalidate earlier market engagement. The accompanying guidance was stated to follow in autumn 2026, so confirm the current official version before issuing a tender.
Check construction guidance separately
The 2022 Construction Playbook says that evaluation should focus on value and that proposed criteria and weightings should be tested before procurement. Its social-value passages describe an earlier 10% approach and refer to PPN 06/20. Treat that as construction context, not as a substitute for checking the current policy applying to your authority and procurement date.
Make a written scope decision
- Name the contracting authority and any central-government status.
- Identify the procurement route and governing legislation or rules.
- Calculate the estimated total value using the applicable valuation method.
- Record the commencement date and the policy edition in force on that date.
- List exclusions, funding conditions and any authority-specific social-value policy.
- Have procurement and legal colleagues check the scope before the tender is released.
Choose an outcome that belongs to the works
Social value should follow from the way the construction contract will be delivered. Start with the project’s workforce, skills, supply chain, local economy and environmental effects, then select an outcome that the supplier can influence while performing the contract. The outcome must be related to the subject matter, proportionate to the contract’s nature, complexity, cost and duration, and capable of being applied without unequal treatment or discrimination.
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| Outcome area | When it may fit a construction contract | Questions to resolve before tender |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs and employability | The works create sustained labour demand or provide access routes for people who face barriers to employment. | What roles, duration and support can the project realistically provide? How will opportunities be advertised and verified? |
| Skills and apprenticeships | The project needs trades, technical roles or site-management capability that can be developed during delivery. | Which occupations and qualification levels are relevant? Can subcontractors provide placements and supervision? |
| Local supply chains | Relevant goods, services or specialist trades can be sourced competitively from the project region. | What is genuinely available in the market, and how will smaller suppliers receive fair opportunities without an artificial local preference? |
| Community benefits | The site affects a defined community and the supplier can deliver engagement, facilities or volunteering connected with the works. | Which activity is needed, who benefits and how will delivery avoid duplicating another programme? |
| Environmental improvement | Construction methods, materials, logistics or site restoration can reduce impacts beyond the minimum specification. | What baseline, boundary and evidence will distinguish an additional benefit from ordinary compliance? |
Do not include every possible theme. The PPN 002 Guide encourages focusing on one outcome except for the government’s most important contracts, so that bidders can produce a credible plan and evaluators can test it properly. A major, long-duration programme may justify more than one outcome where the authority can manage the additional evidence and contract workload.
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Use the workforce profile as evidence, not as a slogan
PPN 002 notes that staff-focused criteria may be relevant when labour is a high proportion of contract cost. For a labour-intensive refurbishment, an apprenticeship or progression outcome may be closely connected to delivery. For a short, highly automated specialist installation, demanding a large headcount target could be disproportionate. The right test is whether the requirement reflects the contract’s real cost drivers and delivery period.
Test the requirement with potential suppliers
Preliminary market engagement is the quickest way to find out whether a proposed outcome is deliverable and measurable. Use a supplier event, webinar, survey, one-to-one session or another proportionate method, while treating participants equally and publishing material information to the market where required.
What to test
- Whether suppliers and their subcontractors can deliver the proposed outcome at the project’s location and scale.
- Which commitments drive cost, programme risk, supervision needs or changes to the construction method.
- Which metrics suppliers already collect and can evidence without disproportionate administration.
- Whether the proposed criteria favour a particular business model, geography or incumbent unfairly.
- Whether the scoring approach rewards a credible method rather than an unverifiable promise of volume.
- How often the authority should receive reports and what evidence would be acceptable.
Keep a market-engagement record showing the questions asked, responses received, changes made and reasons for retaining any requirement that suppliers challenged. Market intelligence should refine the requirement, not allow a supplier to write the specification for itself.
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Write a tender question bidders can answer
The PPN 002 model question asks bidders, within a stated word limit, for a method statement and project plan containing specific, measurable and time-bound commitments. The authority inserts the selected policy outcome and the matching award criteria and sub-criteria. Adapt the wording to the works, site and market only where the adaptation remains aligned with the model and the authority’s legal duties.
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Recommended question structure
- State the outcome. Describe the project-linked result sought, such as apprenticeship opportunities for the occupations needed on the scheme.
- Define the response. Ask for a method statement and implementation plan, not a general corporate-policy essay.
- Require commitments. Ask for specific, measurable and time-bound actions, with assumptions identified.
- Require delivery ownership. Ask bidders to name responsible roles, relevant subcontractor controls and escalation routes.
- Require measurement. Specify the baseline, calculation method, evidence and reporting frequency expected.
- Set the response limit and format. A common format lets evaluators compare answers and prevents an advantage from sheer volume of prose.
Illustrative construction-tender wording
“Describe how you will deliver the following social-value outcome during this contract. Provide a project plan with specific, measurable and time-bound commitments. Explain your delivery method, baseline, milestones, responsible personnel, supply-chain arrangements, risks and mitigations, proposed measures, evidence and reporting. Identify any assumptions or dependencies outside your control. Your response must follow the response schedule.”
The drafting fields must be completed before issue. They are drafting fields, not a universal mandatory template. If the selected outcome is one for which PPN 002 asks for a baseline total number of people working on the contract, include that baseline request. The model identifies this requirement for outcomes 1, 6 and 7; confirm the outcome numbering and current edition when preparing the tender.
Publish the assessment information
The tender pack should state the social-value question, selected criteria and sub-criteria, weighting, scoring approach, response limit, evidence expected and any contractual reporting requirements. Explain what a strong answer demonstrates: a credible delivery method, a realistic schedule, assigned responsibilities, suitable measures, evidence, reporting and management through the supply chain where relevant. Bidders should not have to infer any of those requirements from an unpublished evaluator’s checklist.
Set the weighting without overreaching
Use any weighting required by the applicable policy and justify it in the procurement design. If no mandatory percentage applies, select a weighting that reflects the outcome’s importance and the authority’s ability to evaluate and manage it. A high percentage is not automatically meaningful if the question is vague or the contract team cannot verify delivery.
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| PPN 026 value band | Minimum social-value weighting | Commencement and scope |
|---|---|---|
| £1 million to under £5 million | 10% | Covered central-government procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027, subject to the note’s scope and exclusions. |
| £5 million or more | 20% | Covered central-government procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027, subject to the note’s scope and exclusions. |
| Outside PPN 026 scope, or before its applicable commencement | Not prescribed by these PPN 026 bands | Apply the authority’s current policy and procurement rules; do not import the percentages as universal thresholds. |
PPN 026 expresses the minimums using the total tender score or the specified equivalent where an absolute-scoring method is used. Check the note’s scoring provisions rather than assuming that a percentage of price or a separate pass/fail gate is equivalent.
Evaluate social value consistently
Under the PPN 002 model, evaluation is qualitative. Evaluators score the quality of the method statement and implementation plan against the selected award criteria and sub-criteria. Bidders state quantities that become contract commitments, but the quantities themselves are not evaluated under that model. A bidder should therefore win because its proposed method is credible and meets the published quality tests, not simply because it writes the largest number.
Build a criterion-specific scoring guide
| Criterion | Evidence of a strong response | Evidence of a weak response |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding of the outcome | Connects the outcome to the work packages, workforce and programme, with relevant assumptions. | Repeats a generic corporate commitment without linking it to the project. |
| Delivery method | Explains actions, sequencing, supervision and supply-chain controls that could be implemented on site. | Promises activity but gives no method, owner or realistic route to delivery. |
| Measurement and evidence | Defines a baseline, calculation, records and reporting timetable that the authority can audit. | Uses undefined terms such as “local” or “community benefit” with no boundary or evidence. |
| Risk and proportionality | Identifies dependencies, constraints and mitigations without shifting ordinary contract compliance into social-value credit. | Relies on conditions outside the bidder’s control or creates an implausible target. |
| Supply-chain delivery | Shows how relevant subcontractors will be briefed, monitored and supported. | Assumes subcontractors will deliver without commitments, resources or checks. |
Publish the scoring scale and apply it to every bid. Keep individual evaluator records tied to the published criteria, resolve moderation differences transparently and avoid introducing a new preference for a particular location, business size or delivery technique after bids arrive. If a response is unclear, use only the clarification process permitted by the procurement rules; do not let clarification rewrite the bid.
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A social-value score has little practical effect if the winning commitments remain in the tender file. Extract the accepted deliverables from the bid and place them in the contract, schedule, performance plan or other binding document with enough precision for both parties to know what must be delivered.
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Specify the contract-management mechanics
- Commitment: the exact activity, output or outcome promised.
- Baseline: the starting population, workforce, hours, spend or environmental measure, as applicable.
- Timeframe: the milestone, reporting period and completion date.
- Owner: the supplier role accountable for delivery and the authority contact who reviews it.
- Evidence: records such as payroll or training records, attendance logs, recruitment adverts, invoices, beneficiary confirmations or independently verifiable project data, chosen in proportion to the outcome.
- Reporting: the template, frequency, data definitions and route for correcting errors.
- Supply chain: flow-down duties and the supplier’s method for checking subcontractor performance.
- Escalation: early-warning, recovery-plan and improvement steps if performance falls behind.
- Change control: how an agreed target may be adjusted when an evidenced external event changes the works, without allowing an unearned reduction.
PPN 002 recommends using its standard reporting metrics where they are suitable and proportionate. If they are not suitable, agree an appropriate metric with the supplier. The guidance encourages at least one social-value KPI when entering into a contract. For covered PPN 026 contracts valued at £5 million or more, at least one social-value KPI is required through the applicable contractual mechanisms.
Make the metric auditable
“Ten local jobs” is not a complete KPI. Define the geographic boundary, whether the measure counts new starters or total people employed, the minimum duration, the contract activity to which it relates, the evidence required and how departures or transfers are treated. For an apprenticeship, define the age or eligibility category only if relevant to the chosen policy outcome, the start and completion evidence, expected duration and who verifies it.
Use the correct recruitment channel where required
For local job opportunities created to perform a contract, the PPN 002 note says that in-scope central-government procurements must advertise those opportunities through the government’s Find a Job website. Confirm that the clause applies to your authority and procurement before inserting it into another public body’s or a private client’s contract.
Worked example: a medium-sized public refurbishment
Assume an authority is procuring a refurbishment with a 24-month programme, substantial site labour and several specialist subcontract packages. The authority’s initial aspiration is “support the local community”. That wording is too broad to score or manage.
Refine the aspiration
- Use workforce and programme information to select a skills outcome connected to the works.
- Ask the market how many placements can be supervised safely, which trades are available and what records already exist.
- Publish a question requiring a method statement, baseline workforce, milestones, responsible roles, subcontractor arrangements and evidence.
- Score the quality of the plan against published criteria; do not award extra points merely for an unsupported high quantity.
- Schedule the accepted placements, reporting dates and evidence requirements in the contract.
Define the contract measure
A usable commitment might require the contractor to provide a stated number of relevant work-experience or apprenticeship opportunities, each linked to the refurbishment, with start dates, minimum participation periods and monthly evidence. The authority should still test whether that target is proportionate and achievable; the example is a drafting pattern, not a universal quota.
Common drafting failures and repairs
| Failure | Why it creates risk | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| Pasting a model outcome into every project | The requirement may be unrelated, disproportionate or impossible for the market. | Start with the contract’s delivery context and select only a connected outcome. |
| Using “local” without a definition | Bidders cannot price or measure the promise consistently, and the requirement may create unequal treatment. | Define the relevant geography and the evidence boundary, or choose a different measure. |
| Scoring quantities despite saying quality is assessed | The published method and actual evaluation diverge. | Score the method and implementation plan under the PPN 002 approach; make accepted quantities contractual commitments. |
| Keeping the weighting secret | Bidders cannot tailor proportionate answers and the authority cannot fairly compare them. | Publish weighting, criteria, sub-criteria, scoring and evidence expectations. |
| Promising delivery without a baseline | Progress cannot be distinguished from ordinary project activity. | Set the starting point and calculation method before tender. |
| Ignoring subcontractors | Many construction outcomes are delivered below the main contractor and disappear from reporting. | Require supply-chain responsibilities, flow-down provisions and verification. |
| Making a KPI with no consequence | Reporting becomes a formality and missed commitments are discovered too late. | Set review dates, recovery actions, escalation and proportionate contractual remedies. |
| Relying on outdated policy percentages | An earlier central-government approach may not match the rule in force for the procurement date. | Check the current PPN, commencement provision, scope and any transition arrangements. |
Pre-publication checklist
- Have you identified the authority, procurement route, total value and commencement date?
- Have you confirmed whether PPN 002, PPN 026 or another policy applies, including exclusions and transition provisions?
- Is each outcome connected to the subject matter and proportionate to the works?
- Has the market been asked whether suppliers can deliver and measure it?
- Does the question request a specific, measurable and time-bound method statement and implementation plan?
- Are the criteria, sub-criteria, weighting, score descriptors, response limit and evidence requirements published?
- Will evaluators assess quality against the criteria actually issued?
- Are the winning commitments, baseline, KPI, reporting frequency, evidence and responsibilities written into the contract?
- Have you checked equality, non-discrimination, confidentiality and procurement-law requirements?
- Has the authority confirmed the current official guidance before release?
The practical test is simple: a supplier should be able to read the tender and know exactly what outcome to deliver, how its method will be judged, what evidence will be required and what will happen after award. The authority should be able to explain why the outcome belongs to this construction contract and demonstrate delivery from baseline to final report.
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