On 5 August 2026, the Cabinet Office published Procurement Policy Note 026 (PPN 026), introducing a new Social Value Model for central government contracts.
At first glance, PPN 026 might look like another procurement policy update. However, what the procurement note points to is a more significant point, specifically demonstrating the direction and priority central government is looking to take with procurement. This blog will explore the changes PPN 026 is bringing about and what this could mean for organisations bidding for public sector work and social value as a whole.
A narrower definition of social value
One of the most significant changes is the narrowing of the areas covered by the model. The new Social Value Model focuses on two outcomes: Good Jobs and Skills, with six award criteria sitting underneath them.
There is a particular focus on creating employment opportunities, developing skills and supporting people who face greater barriers to entering or progressing in the labour market. This includes groups such as people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), care leavers, people with disabilities and people with long-term health conditions.
This represents a shift from previous versions of the Social Value Model, which covered a much broader range of social and environmental priorities.
For central government contracts within the scope of PPN 026, social value is therefore becoming more focused. Employment and skills are now at the centre of the model, while areas such as wider community outcomes and environmental commitments are no longer given the same place within the framework.
In the weeks following the the publication of the PPN 026, set to come into force in January 2027, there has been understandable concern around the impact this change will have and what it signals for the likes of wellbeing, community initiatives and the environment. What is explicitly clear is that these factors are not the focus of this particular model, what it implicit are questions around how this will impact wider ‘social’ factors that were prioritised under the former model.
Why jobs and skills?
What PPN 026 demonstrates is that politically, there is a greater importance and clear rationale for putting emphasis on jobs and skills. Employment, training and skills development can be defined, monitored and reported relatively clearly, which makes them easier to build into procurement requirements and measure through contract delivery.
The timing is also significant. The government is placing considerable emphasis on employment, skills and economic opportunity, and public procurement provides a way of connecting public spending with these wider objectives.
Importantly, however, it does raise an important question about how we think about social value more broadly.
Community engagement, environmental improvements, local investment and wellbeing can all create meaningful long-term outcomes. These outcomes do not become less valuable simply because they no longer form part of the central government Social Value Model.
For organisations working across different parts of the public and private sector, this distinction will be important. The social value priorities of a central government department may be very different from those of a local authority, an NHS organisation, a housing association or a private developer.
Social value is also becoming more significant in procurement
The weighting attached to social value is changing too.
For relevant central government contracts, the minimum weighting will be 10% for contracts up to £5 million, increasing to at least 20% for contracts valued at £5 million and above.
This makes it increasingly difficult to treat social value as something that simply sits alongside the main contract delivery. For suppliers, the commitments made during the procurement process need to be realistic and deliverable once the contract begins.
This is where measurement becomes particularly important.
There is a difference between making a commitment in a tender and being able to demonstrate what happened as a result of that commitment. A supplier might commit to creating employment opportunities, providing training or supporting people into work, but the real value comes from understanding who benefited, what was delivered and what changed as a result.
At Enable Green, we are particularly interested in this distinction between outputs and outcomes. Counting activities is useful, but it does not necessarily tell us whether those activities made a meaningful difference.
For example, saying that 20 people received training tells us something about the activity that took place. Understanding how many completed the training, what they gained from it and whether it contributed to employment or progression tells us much more about the outcome.
What should organisations be thinking about?
For organisations working in or around public procurement, PPN 026 is a good opportunity to look at how social value is currently being approached within the organisation.
A few questions are worth asking:
Where are we currently creating social value? Look beyond your social value policy and consider what is actually happening through your workforce, supply chain, projects and community relationships.
Which of these activities align with the new model? If central government contracts are an important part of your pipeline, consider where your existing activity connects with jobs and skills.
Can we measure what we are doing? If you are making commitments within a tender, do you have a system for tracking delivery and collecting the evidence?
Who owns delivery? Social value commitments should not sit solely with the person responsible for writing the bid. The people delivering the contract need to understand what has been promised and how it will be measured.
Are we measuring outcomes as well as outputs? Recording the number of people trained or employed is useful, but understanding what changed as a result gives a much clearer picture of impact.
What does PPN 026 mean for social value more broadly?
It is important not to view PPN 026 as a new definition of social value across the whole of the UK. The model applies to central government contracts within its scope, and other organisations will continue to have their own approaches and priorities.
Local authorities, for example, may continue to place significant emphasis on local employment, community investment, environmental outcomes, inclusive procurement or other priorities depending on their local strategies and procurement requirements. The same applies to other public sector and private sector organisations.
For businesses, the key is not simply to follow the latest model and assume that it applies everywhere. It is about understanding the requirements of the client or commissioner you are working with and making sure your approach reflects their priorities.
For organisations bidding for relevant central government contracts, however, the direction is clear. Jobs and skills will have a much more prominent role, and suppliers will need to be able to demonstrate how their commitments will be delivered.
PPN 026 also highlights something that is becoming increasingly important in social value more generally: the need to move beyond commitments and towards evidence.
Good social value is rarely just about what an organisation says it will do. Instead, it is about understanding what is being delivered, who is benefiting and what difference it is making.
As the approach to social value continues to develop, organisations that can connect their commitments to measurable outcomes will be better placed to understand and communicate the value they are creating.
The new model may be narrower, but the wider conversation around social value is far from over.
