Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in supporting civil society through central government procurement.

In 2015 Lord Young of Graffham undertook a review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 which found the Act was having a really positive effect where it was being used to its fullest extent. We are currently implementing the review’s recommendations.

We are engaging with civil society representatives, commissioners, public sector procurement professionals as we develop the government's Civil Society Strategy which will be published later this year. In addition, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector Crown Representative is also meeting stakeholders to assess how to increase social value through commissioning.