Introduction

What is Social Value?

Social Value is the additional benefit to the community from a commissioning/procurement process. This is over and above the direct purchasing of goods, services and outcomes.

Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) embeds Social Value throughout its commissioning and procurement activities. We consider the social, environmental and economic impacts of our purchases. We build Social Value considerations into out procurement process. We do this through:

  • designs and specifications

  • tender questions

  • key performance indicators

  • clauses of contracts

BHCC has a policy of allocating at least 10% of quality evaluation weighting to Social Value in its tenders. This applies where relevant and proportionate and is in line with the council’s community wealth building objectives. We also seek to increase that percentage where possible.

Working with our suppliers is key to delivering the aims of this policy. We will check and measure their performance. We will also encourage them to deliver outcomes that support our Social Value Framework principles.

The Brighton & Hove Social Value Framework principles

  1. Working together across sectors to achieve shared priorities and provide social value outcomes (economic, social and environmental)
  2. Being inclusive. Improving equality, diversity and inclusion of people in the way we work
  3. Supporting local and positive employment experiences. This includes creating work and training opportunities for local people, supporting people to secure work and paying the Real Living Wage.
  4. Building community capacity for prevention and early intervention
  5. Taking a community-led approach to social value. Supporting communities with resources and expertise to build capacity
  6. Supporting volunteering as part of delivery
  7. Buying local. Supporting the Brighton and Hove economy by choosing suppliers close to the point of service delivery
  8. Ensuring ethical standards of purchasing and delivering services
  9. Implementing sustainable policies. Reusing, reducing waste and carbon footprint

Suppliers must deliver these Social Value outcomes locally. Outcomes will be specifically connected to the contracts entered into by the suppliers.

Scopes and aims

This policy covers the councils’ expectations of prospective suppliers in procurement activities. This includes commissioning, procurement and contract management. the policy aims to promote and improve the delivery of Social Value outcomes from all council contracts. We will do this by:

  • consulting with the Service Users to identify opportunities for more Social Value in contracts
  • consulting with the market to identify opportunities and encourage innovative solutions
  • including Social Value outcomes in commissioning, design and procurement processes
  • including Social Value as part of qualification and evaluation of bidders
  • including Social Value delivery commitments into relevant supplier contracts
  • monitoring and measuring supplier performance against contractual Social Value commitment
  • seeking opportunities for continuous improvement with suppliers throughout the contract

This policy is part of a wider policy through procurement approach. It is complementary to environmental sustainability and fair working practices within procurement. Please refer to the councils’ website for developments in these areas.

Expectations

Where relevant and appropriate to the contract, the Councils expects prospective suppliers and their subcontractors to:

  • deliver better value for money and do more than just deliver the core services
  • engage, collaborate with, and support local communities and third sector organisations
  • support initiatives that increase the wellbeing of residents of the Brighton and Hove area
  • support initiatives that increase the digital inclusion of residents of the Brighton and Hove area
  • increase employment opportunities for people who may otherwise have difficulty finding employment
  • make supply chain opportunities accessible to local SMEs and third sector organisations
  • support initiatives that increase biodiversity in the Brighton and Hove area
  • help to address specific skills gaps within a variety of sectors
  • support regeneration projects or initiatives in the Brighton and Hove area
  • support initiatives to alleviate the cost of living crisis
  • support initiatives that help local communities to recover from the impact of the pandemic
  • ensure subcontractors deliver the above expectations