Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33868 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Procurement, and with reference to the Procurement Policy Note 002: Social Value Model, published in February 2025, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of contract compliance requirements on (a) working conditions and (b) trade unions on regulatory costs to local government.

Procurement Policy Note 002: Taking account of Social Value in the award of contracts is not a mandatory policy for local government as stated within the scope of the procurement policy note. It is optional for local authorities to elect to apply this policy.