By Vivienne Russell | 27 June 2014
More than two-thirds of councils and housing associations say new requirements to include social value measures in procurement contracts have improved services and cut costs, according to research published by Social Enterprise UK.
The Public Services (Social Value) Act, which came into force last year requires commissioners to consider wider community benefits in contract tenders.
A survey, commissioned by Social Enterprise UK, the Chartered Institute of Housing, PwC and the housing providers Wates Group and Orbit Group, examined commissioners’ views on the Act and their progress in delivering its objectives.
It found that almost three-quarters (71%) agreed that delivering social value had let to better service delivery, while 52% said it had results in cost saving. A majority (82%) agreed that it had improved the image of their organisation, while 78% said it had encouraged better community relations.
Commenting on the findings, Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: ‘The findings in the report are very good news and clearly demonstrate that integrating social value can bring a wide range of benefits to local authorities and housing associations and the communities in which they operate.
‘It shows social value can be viewed as a strategy for cost savings, not just as the creation of positive social outcomes or, at worse, compliance to the Act.’
However, the research also highlighted obstacles with more than a third (37%) of respondents reporting difficulty in defining social value, with more than half report measurement as the main barrier to implementation, both during the commissioning phase and post-commissioning.
Gavin Smart, director of policy and practice at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: ‘Although the housing industry is already doing a lot to take advantage of the Social Value Act, this research shows that we can and should be doing more, and that we could be doing more to measure the benefits effectively.’
