The Council use the national Sustainable Procurement Taskforce definition of social value as:
“A process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services and works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.”
What is Solihull’s approach to social value?
Each year, the Council spends £200m through commissioning and procuring goods and services. We need to ensure that we work with responsible contractors to meet the needs of our communities. We want to create positive outcomes for society, beyond the initial requirements of our contracts.
We also want our public services to be delivered by organisations that value:
- the environment
- our communities
- the wellbeing of their employees
We will incorporate social value requirements into the procurement exercise where it is appropriate to do so.
Social value must be delivered within 15 miles of Solihull Town Centre. This document lists all postcodes within that area.
How do we include this in our contracts?
We currently include a social value element of between 5 and 20% in all contracts we have with suppliers that are over £50k. More detail of this is included in our Social Value policy.
How do we measure social value?
We measure the social value created on our contracts using the national TOMs Framework. We use the TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) to measure and assess the social value element of the contract submission.
The TOMs measure delivery of social value under the following headings:
- Promoting local skills and employment (Jobs)
- Supporting growth of responsible regional business (Business)
- Creating healthier, safer and more resilient communities (Social)
- Protecting and improving our environment (Environment)
- Promoting social innovation (Innovation)
