As the Queen delivered her most gracious speech to both Houses of Parliament yesterday, Social Value Portal CEO Guy Battle identifies some key takeaways for public procurers and suppliers that show how we can expect to level up our communities and help them to recover and renew.
There is much to say about the Queen’s Speech yesterday, but most important of all, are the proposals to bring forward a new Procurement Bill to replace old EU rules that simplify procurement, AND to require all public sector buyers to consider ‘social value’ when picking suppliers.
This follows on from a consultation on the green paper on procurement reform which closed in March. The government is still assessing this, but it is expected to be introduced from September 2021.
The Speech included a number of other key issues that will drive social value, including an overarching theme of levelling up that builds on the report Levelling Up Our Communities by Danny Kruger MP; as well as helping communities to recover and renew.
So what do both buyers and suppliers need to consider?
There are key issues addressed in the speech that both buyers and suppliers need to consider in their procurements and bids:
- How can you support a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the United Kingdom stronger, healthier and more prosperous than before?
- How do your proposals level up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom, supporting jobs, businesses and economic growth and addressing the impact of the pandemic on public services?
- How can you support the health and wellbeing of the nation, including tackling obesity and improving mental health?
- How can investment into large infrastructure projects unlock more social value for communities, including proposals to transform connectivity by rail and bus and to extend 5G mobile coverage and gigabit-capable broadband?
- How can you support a lifetime skills guarantee?
- What steps are you taking to invest in new green industries to create jobs, whilst protecting the environment?
This is all very positive and exciting, and certainly builds on the momentum generated by Procurement Policy Note PPN06/20. The fact that the government is placing such importance on place-based procurement and social value creation must be great news for communities.
Support at the ready
Here at Social Value Portal, we are ready to support both buyers and suppliers in the public sector. We’re developing not only a set of TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) that precisely reflects the Social Value Model, but also a bid management tool designed to support procurement and bid teams in maximising their social value.
