The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has become the first council to publish a Social Value Statement and the LGA encourages you to read about their journey and look to develop and publish your own.
In early 2020 officers from Hammersmith and Fulham’s Procurement and Economic Development teams began work to explore different models to effectively deliver Social Value outcomes. After extensive research, benchmarking and market consultation, they produced a Social Value Strategy, underpinned by resources available through the Social Value Portal (SVP). This Strategy was signed off by full Cabinet in May 2020 and sits at the heart of the council’s six core values and provides the golden thread that runs through their key corporate strategies, including their Business Plan and Industrial Strategy which seeks to drive local economic growth in the Borough. It also forms part of their Climate Emergency programme to achieve Carbon Net Zero by 2030.
The Strategy introduces a mandatory requirement for all contracts above £100,000 to achieve a minimum of 10% in Social Value. Over the next 12 months, the council target is to fully embed the approach to all procured contracts over £100,000, direct awards and contract variations. The council’s ambition is to increase the Social Value weighting to 20% by 2023.
They have recently appointed a Social Value officer to maximise the opportunities throughout the council and have also set up a Social Value Delivery Group (SVDG) which works in collaboration with colleagues across all directorates to ensure Social Value activity aligns with corporate policies, vision and pledges related to the Climate Emergency and the COVID-19 Recovery Response.
By clearly defining their roles and responsibilities of each department and embedding Social Value into discussions at all stages of procurement, as well as engaging with residents and local businesses they are able to identify local need and factor in Social Value considerations into Instructions to Tenderers (ITTs), contract specifications and award criteria of their high value contracts. At the award stage, officers must demonstrate the Social Value outcomes the winning bidder committed to and contract managers regularly monitor suppliers’ progress.
To help local businesses and suppliers Hammersmith and Fulham regularly hold market engagement events and webinars to raise awareness and create more opportunities for local firms.
What are Hammersmith and Fulham’s Social Value achievements;
There have been around 40 tenders undertaken since May 2020 but only 8 with a value over £100,000. The Social Value committed and delivered since then includes;
- 52 weeks of apprenticeship placements
- 50 tCO2e of carbon reductions
- 778 hours of career support sessions
- 190 hours of educational sessions
- 2 jobs for local residents
- Over £200,000 spent in the local economy
- 260 weeks of training opportunities
- 64 hours of volunteering in the community
There are details of how you can develop and publish your own Social Value Statement on our website.