New Social Value Policy will deliver benefits for communities in Liverpool

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet has approved a new policy designed to drive benefits for communities from our contracts with businesses.

The aim of the new Social Value Commissioning and Procurement Policy is to secure positive social, economic, environmental, and cultural outcomes through the Council’s spending and contracts.

This could include:

• More jobs, apprenticeships, and skills opportunities for local people.
• Fairer and more inclusive employment practices that reduce workforce inequalities, alongside targeted support for people from underrepresented group.
• Opportunities for community development, regeneration, and investment, including strengthening support for local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
• A cleaner, greener, and sustainable city with improved green spaces, enhanced biodiversity and reduced carbon, waste, and pollution.
• Strengthening equality, diversity, inclusion and anti racism across local communities and workplaces.
• Boosting the local economy through increased spend with local businesses.
• Targeted support that responds directly to specific local needs.
• Encouraging fair work practices, including secure employment, fair pay, and ethical standards.
• Improving health, wellbeing, and quality of life for residents and workers.
• Increased opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises, micro businesses and VCSE organisations through inclusive procurement and local supply chains.

The policy has been shaped through extensive engagement, including with local, regional, and national businesses, with dedicated input from the local VCSE sector. It will improve consistency, strengthen governance, and embed social value more meaningfully and practically across the Council’s commissioning and procurement activity.

From April, the Council will begin a three-year phased implementation. New tools, guidance, resources, and training will be developed and rolled out to support Council Officers involved in commissioning and procurement, suppliers bidding for Council contracts, as well as existing suppliers to strengthen their understanding and application of social value in line with the Council’s approach, and to improve how they deliver and report social value.

Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation, Cllr Ruth Bennett, said: “We spend approximately £860 million on goods, services and works that support the everyday lives of people and communities across Liverpool, and the new policy will ensure this spending delivers greater and more meaningful benefits for the city.

“The policy is designed to ensure the Council’s public spending works harder for Liverpool, strengthening neighbourhoods, improving opportunities and delivering greater value for money.”