What's changing in the Social Value Model?

From 1 January 2027, social value on central government contracts worth £1m or more will be scored on just two things: good jobs and skills. On contracts of £5m or more, it will be worth at least 20% of the marks.

The Cabinet Office published PPN 026 in August. On 28 October it followed up with the buyer guidance that tells commercial teams exactly how to use it. That guidance matters more than the headline policy, because it shows how your answer will actually be marked.

We've read all 32 pages so you don't have to. Here's what's changed, and what it means if you bid for government work.

The eight changes that matter

1. Two outcomes, six criteria. PPN 002 had 5 missions, 8 outcomes and 17 award criteria, covering everything from net zero to modern slavery. PPN 026 has two outcomes. Good Jobs covers creating high-quality jobs (1a), fair working conditions (1b) and fair pay (1c). Skills covers training and retraining (2a), in-work progression (2b) and the talent pipeline (2c).

2. A new definition. Social value now means how a supplier will provide "good British jobs, skills and opportunities in every postcode".

3. Higher threshold, higher stakes. The model only applies to contracts worth £1m or more (including VAT). Between £1m and £5m the minimum weighting is 10%. At £5m and above it doubles to 20%. Below £1m there is no minimum, a big change from PPN 002, which kicked in at the public contract threshold.

4. Named target cohorts. Buyers will point you at specific groups: NEETs aged 16 to 24, people leaving education, people with long-term health conditions or disabilities, people with SEND, care leavers, people on probation and prison leavers, victims of domestic abuse, and veterans.

5. Community Programmes. Government will publish a List of Community Programmes that suppliers can back. Support one, with a dated letter from the programme confirming your commitment is additional, and meet the implementation criteria, and the model scoring method gives you a minimum score of 6 out of 10. The letter then goes into the contract.

6. Quality, not quantity, is scored. Evaluators should mark how credible your method statement and implementation plan are, not how many jobs you promise. The numbers still go into the contract and get monitored. The exception: on £5m+ contracts, buyers may choose to score volumes such as jobs or apprenticeships created.

7. Accountability after award. Contracts of £5m or more must carry at least one social value KPI, published on the Central Digital Platform. Buyers must publish a contract performance notice at least every 12 months. Poor delivery against social value KPIs can be used to exclude you from future bids.

8. Everything else sits outside the weighting. Carbon, modern slavery and other priorities can still be evaluated, but with their own separate weighting on top of the 10% or 20%, not inside it.

What it means for bidders

Your old social value library won't fit. Answers built around carbon reduction, volunteering hours or supply chain diversity no longer map to the six criteria. Recycling them will cost marks on the question that can now decide a £5m+ bid.

Additionality is policed harder. Your commitment must be extra to the core contract. A training provider can't count its training delivery as skills social value. You can expand something you already do, but only if the expansion happens because you won the contract, not because of another contract or wider CSR.

The question tells you how to answer. The standard question asks for specific, measurable, time-bound commitments in the bid's relevant area. Without a Community Programme, you must also name a target cohort and explain how you'll reach it and engage staff and partners. Everyone needs a method statement covering the commitment and its quantities, how you'll prepare and support participants, how you'll help them progress when the activity ends, and how you'll publish progress.

Bigger isn't automatically better. Because evaluators score credibility rather than volume, a smaller, well-evidenced plan can beat an inflated one. That's good news for SMEs and scale-ups that can't promise 50 apprenticeships but can deliver five properly.

Don't buy your way in. Social value can't be delivered as cash donations, whether to the buyer, a Community Programme or a charity. Any genuine costs should sit transparently in your cost model.

Frameworks and call-offs need care. Framework awards don't need the minimum weighting, but frameworks must let buyers evaluate social value at call-off, including 20% on £5m+ call-offs. For direct call-offs, you may have to sign up to Social Value Model outcomes just to get on the framework.

Health and unions now feature. Fair working conditions include workplace adjustments, retention of staff with health conditions, flexible working and trade union access. Fair pay goes beyond the minimum wage to day-one sick pay at full earnings and pay gap reporting.

Transition is messy. For call-offs, the framework's start date decides which model applies: PPN 002 for frameworks set up between 24 February 2025 and 31 December 2026, and PPN 06/20 for older ones. Expect a mix of all three models in 2027.

What to do before January

1. Map your pipeline. Flag every central government opportunity worth £1m+ likely to publish a tender notice from 1 January 2027, and note which are £5m+.
2. Rebuild your social value library around the six criteria. Retire content that doesn't map to jobs or skills.
3. Pick your cohorts and partners now. Decide which target cohorts you can genuinely reach, and start relationships with local employment, skills and community organisations, so you're ready when the List of Community Programmes is published.
4. Get into pre-market engagement. Buyers are told to test their chosen outcomes, criteria and metrics with suppliers early. That's your chance to shape a proportionate question.
5. Learn the standard reporting metrics. Use them to frame your commitments, because they'll become your KPIs.
6. Build delivery and reporting capacity. On £5m+ contracts your performance will be published annually, and poor delivery can count against you next time.

How Jonty helps

Jonty already tracks expiring contracts and pre-tender signals, so you can spot which of next year's opportunities will fall under PPN 026 and at what weighting. When the tender lands, Jonty reads the documents, pulls out the social value question, the chosen outcome and the target cohorts, and helps you draft an answer that addresses every award and implementation criterion.

Social value just became a 1-in-5 question on the biggest contracts. Start a free trial and make sure you're ready for it.

Sources

• PPN 026 guidance, Cabinet Office (October 2026)
• PPN 026: The Social Value Model (August 2026)