Sector organisations have been asked to share their views on the government’s recently announced changes to the way it spends money on goods and services to create social value.
Last month, the Cabinet Office revealed plans to remove the current 10% social value weighting from all contracts under £1m while increasing the score to 20% for tenders of £5m or more.
It also proposed changes to how social value would be measured, with suppliers set to be assessed on their commitment to backing British jobs and supporting young people, care leavers and people with long-term health issues.
The suggested procurement changes were broadly welcomed by civil society bodies but Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) voiced concern about the “narrowing” of what constitutes social value and the removal of supplier diversity from how it is scored.
Writing for Civil Society, SEUK chief executive Peter Holbrook also warned that the £1m threshold might disadvantage sector organisations bidding for contracts.
“Framed as cutting red tape for small suppliers, it also means mandatory social value requirements stop applying below that level – precisely the tier where many social enterprises compete,” he wrote.
“A rule meant to make bidding easier for small suppliers shouldn’t remove the very factor that encouraged buyers to look beyond price and scale, leaving social enterprises to compete on conventional terms against bidders with far bigger bid-writing budget and capacity.”
SEUK has now asked sector organisations to share their views on the changes in a survey, which is open until 5pm on 21 September.
“Social enterprises are set up to deliver social value; it’s in their DNA,” SEUK’s survey announcement reads.
“This narrowing of its definition and limitation of its scope could have a detrimental impact on those organisations who are best placed to deliver the PM’s promise of ‘growth in every postcode’.”
Responses SEUK receives will form the basis of a letter to prime minister Andy Burnham, the organisation said, which will open for signatures later this month.
