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Social Value Policy

Published: 17/01/2020

When it meets on 21 January, Flintshire County Council Cabinet will receive an update on progress made in delivering the Social Value Strategy which was approved in March 2019.  Cabinet Members will also be asked to endorse the draft Social Value Procurement Policy.

The Council has a commitment to delivering greater social value through the work that it does; this means getting greater benefits to Flintshire communities as a result of its spending and services.  The Council has recently appointed a Social Value Development Officer to drive this agenda forward, and the Social Value Procurement Policy will create an enabling framework to strengthen the approach to generating social value through the goods and services that the Council purchases.

The main priorities for social value delivery in the next 12 months will include:

  • support for Flintshire’s food poverty programme;
  • reducing fuel poverty;
  • support to reduce energy use and waste;
  • support for the Armed Forces Covenant;
  • promoting equality of opportunity;
  • providing apprenticeship and work experience opportunities;
  • increasing the use of local companies in the supply chain;
  • reducing homelessness;
  • supporting dementia friendly initiatives; and
  • support for employment for marginalised young people and for looked after children.

The Council will achieve these through the long-term goals of:

  • allowing third sector organisations to show the social value generated through their work which will help them secure resources and contracts;
  • encouraging local and regional companies to strengthen their approaches to corporate social responsibility; and
  • supporting public sector service managers to broaden their awareness of the impacts of their work on the community. 

Flintshire County Council Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Assets, Councillor Billy Mullin, said:

“Currently, social value is generated predominantly through larger contracts worth more than £1m. Larger suppliers and contractors have significant experience in generating social value. The draft Social Value Procurement Policy will challenge service managers to think broadly about the services and goods being procured and consider how wider social value could be generated.

“Delivering increased social value will be a key tool in helping the Council demonstrate how the Well-being of Future Generations Act is being delivered on the ground. Implementing the Strategy also provides an opportunity to build good practice across the Public Service Board partners where there is considerable interest in working together on developing social value.”

Some successes to date include:

  • The development of the new Adult Day Care Centre in Queensferry. The additional social value generated through the project included:
    • 610 school or college students visiting the construction site as part of their studies;
    • 6 jobs created;
    • 15 work experience placements supported;
    • 6 apprenticeship opportunities created; and
    • 18 employed interviews provided to disadvantaged candidates.
  • The delivery of domestic energy efficiency improvements for fuel-poor households includes a £900k procured contract between the Council and local company Wall-lag. The additional social value generated through the project include:
    • One local young person, a client of a Council employment programme, has been employed on a three year electrical apprenticeship;
    • all of the staff employed in delivering the contract live within the sub-region;
    • Wall-lag will provide the equivalent to 0.5% of all expenditure made through the contract as a crisis fund for improvements to the homes of the most vulnerable in Flintshire. 

 The Council has a number of major opportunities to deliver significant social value that will need to be included in the programme for the next 12 months. These include:

  • the future procurement of Council home construction;
  • the redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd;
  • the 21st. Century Schools programme;
  • the expansion of Marleyfield House; and
  • future investment by Aura.

The Council will work closely with suppliers and contractors to ensure tangible benefits are delivered towards these themes, and ensure clear benefits for the people of Flintshire are realised.