SOCIAL VALUE
Figure 2: Social impact in procurement (extracted
from The Programme and Project Partners – Social Impact Toolkit).
Reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ)
Contract close out
project lifecycle
Social impact during the
Contract set up
Contract delivery
Mike Horrocks
Mike Horrocks is a Senior Project manager in the Major Capital Projects Team at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. With extensive experience in project development, investment, and delivery, he has a track record of delivering transformative projects and fostering collaborative partnerships. In his current role working on delivery of a new Women & Children’s Hospital, he is responsible for embedding approaches to social value and sustainability across a £300 m+ programme of capital projects. His career spans senior
roles in local government, a social enterprise, a National Park, and the private sector, leading programme and project management, strategic planning, and performance improvement. Mike has secured significant funding for major infrastructure projects and regeneration schemes, advancing social value outcomes alongside this. He pioneered initiatives such as Liverpool’s Community- Led Housing Policy, and the implementation of a 20% social value weighting in capital project procurement processes, ensuring enhanced value for money and real community impact.
cost the NHS in England £435 m annually.10 Asking a
contractor for a social value contribution that helps an older persons’ charity run a falls prevention session in a local village hall could directly reduce hospital admissions. Imagine it was your elderly relative receiving that social value benefit. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 201311
requires
people who commission public services to think about how they can also secure wider social, economic, and environmental benefits. Before healthcare estates staff start the procurement process, they should think about whether the services to be purchased, or the procurement route, could secure benefits for the service or stakeholders in a project. The Act is a tool to help get more value for money out of procurement. It also encourages discussion with the local provider market or community, to design better services, often finding new and innovative solutions to difficult problems. The Procurement Act 202312
gives greater prominence
to social value and sustainability in the new procurement landscape. The Act encourages authorities to consider broader community benefits, such as local job creation and reduced carbon emissions, when making procurement decisions. The ‘most advantageous tender’ (MAT) criterion replaces the previous ‘most economically advantageous tender’ (MEAT) approach, allowing for a broader consideration of factors beyond price – including quality, innovation, and environmental impact. Transparency is also boosted under the new Act, with expanded requirements for publishing notices throughout the procurement lifecycle. NHS Trusts’ Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs) are designed to encourage transparency, equitability, and value for the public purse. RCHT has social value written into its SFIs, taking account of Procurement Policy Note 06/20,13
and requiring Net Zero Carbon and social
value to form at least 10% of tender evaluations. Specific carbon reduction plans are required from suppliers with contract values over £5 m. Remember, 10% is the minimum, but you can go higher.
Embedding social value workstream priorities – some top tips n Social value needs to be one of the key priorities at the beginning of any new project planning.
n Identify the needs of the community in which the contract will be delivered. What are the key pressures and priorities for the NHS originating from that community?
n Share and use these priorities with project teams, 56 Health Estate Journal March 2025
Invitation to tender (ITT)
stakeholders, and potential bidders, as part of the procurement cycle.
n Set out clear expectations at the contract stage, requiring contractors to provide an agreed Social Value Action Plan with Key Performance Indicators and a reporting schedule.
n Collate and communicate the social value benefits that accrue across a range of contracts.
n Make social value a standing agenda item at team meetings, project working groups, and project board meetings.
n Arrange structured learning sessions to support team members with understanding social value. We all struggle with things we don’t understand, or haven’t had the opportunity to discuss in a safe environment.
n Engage with voluntary and community sector organisations and public sector support initiatives to improve collaborative working with contractors.
Conclusion
Embedding social value in health estates management is both legally required and beneficial for NHS hospital Trusts. By adopting strategies such as community engagement, sustainability initiatives, local economic development, inclusive design, a focus on health and wellbeing, and partnerships and collaboration, Trusts can create estates that deliver significant social, economic, and environmental benefits for the communities they serve, and belong to. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has experienced
the positive impact that can be achieved through a commitment to social value, and continues to build its understanding and approach to delivering more, and more impactful, social value.
References/further reading 1 Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service. NHS England, October 2020.
https://tinyurl.com/2kz63sc8
2 NHS England. Carbon reduction plan and net zero commitment requirements for the procurement of NHS goods, services and works. NHS England. 31 October 2023. https://tinyurl. com/3ch5k9dj
3 Greening the business case. NHS England. 25 May 2023.
https://tinyurl.com/p62a72w7
4 NHS Forest.
https://nhsforest.org/ 5 NHS Estates and Facilities Workforce: Apprenticeship Challenge 2022/23. NHS England. 28 April 2022.
6 Apprenticeship levy transfer. NHS Employers. https://tinyurl. com/5cwbt5wn
7 The Cornwall Disability Alliance – ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’.
https://tinyurl.com/378sb7f2
8 What is biophilic architecture? 15 real-world examples in the built environment – University College of Estate Management, online, 10 January 2025.
https://tinyurl.com/ycxj35y4
9 Using NHS buildings for social prescribing. NHS Property Services.
https://tinyurl.com/mwth5k2b
10 Falls in older people: assessing risk and prevention. Clinical guideline [CG161]. NICE, 12 June 2013.
https://www.nice.
org.uk/guidance/cg161
11 Falls: applying All Our Health. Updated Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 25 February 2022. https://
tinyurl.com/2u4nprs5
12 Social Value Act: information and resources. Updated 29 March 2021. The Cabinet Office.
13 Procurement Act 2023.
https://tinyurl.com/3t7kx6c9 14 Procurement Policy Note 06/20 – taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts. Cabinet Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. 24 September 2020.
https://tinyurl.com/5fj6bk89
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