Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Procurement Policy Note 002: Social Value Model, published in February 2025, what estimate he has made of the regulatory cost to the public sector of such contract compliance requirements of the new measures on trade unions and fair work.

Central government uses the same tool for assessing social value that has been used since 2021, where central government buyers select evaluation criteria from the options available in the social value model.

We have made updates to the social value model, to streamline it, align it with the government’s missions and ensure suppliers’ commitments are targeted to need. Any new criteria in the social value model must only be used where they are proportionate and relevant to the contract to prevent creating burdens.