Commercial & Contract · Mandatory · Completion
Social Value Report
The Social Value Report evidences the community benefit delivered by a contractor on public sector construction programmes. It tracks local employment percentages, apprenticeship weeks, SME supply chain spend, community engagement hours, and environmental outcomes against commitments made at tender, using the TOMs framework for standardised measurement.
Last reviewed: 29 March 2026 — This guide reflects UK law as of this date. Social Value Act 2012 / PPN 06/20 remains current with no amendments enacted as of 29 March 2026. Next scheduled review: 29 March 2027.
| Legal basis | Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 + Procurement Policy Note PPN 06/20 |
| What is social value? | The additional benefit to the community beyond the direct outputs of the contract — local employment, training, environmental improvement, and community engagement |
| TOMs framework | The National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) framework provides a standardised method for measuring social value across four themes: Prosperous, People, Place, and Planet |
| Evaluation weighting | Social value typically accounts for 10–20% of the tender evaluation score on public-sector contracts under PPN 06/20 |
2. Key Content
The following table sets out the key content areas that should be covered in a Social Value Report, with guidance on the metrics and information each section should address.
| Report section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Project reference | Project name, contract reference, client, principal contractor, reporting period, and contract value. Confirm the social value evaluation criteria and weighting used at tender. |
| Social value commitments | List the social value commitments made at tender stage, including target KPIs for each metric. These are the benchmarks against which delivery will be measured. |
| Reporting period | State the reporting period covered by this report (e.g. quarterly, six-monthly) and the cumulative position from project start to the current reporting date. |
| Local employment | Total workforce hours on the project and the proportion delivered by local residents (defined by postcode area or local authority boundary). Report both direct employees and subcontractor operatives. |
| Apprenticeships | Number of apprenticeship weeks delivered on the project, broken down by trade, level, and provider. Include new apprenticeship starts and existing apprentices given site experience. |
| SME supply chain | Total project spend and the proportion placed with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Include the number of local SMEs engaged and any new SME relationships created through the project. |
| Community engagement | Hours of community engagement activity delivered — school visits, career talks, site tours for educational groups, community liaison meetings, and voluntary work in the local area. |
| Training | Training days delivered beyond mandatory compliance training — upskilling, NVQ completions, management development, mental health first aid, and other CPD activity. |
| Environment | Environmental social value metrics including carbon reduction against baseline, waste diverted from landfill, biodiversity net gain measures, and sustainable transport initiatives. |
| Total social value | Calculate the total monetised social value delivered using the National TOMs proxy values or the client's agreed methodology. Compare against the target social value committed at tender. |
| Summary | Narrative summary of social value delivery in the reporting period, highlighting successes, challenges, lessons learned, and planned activity for the next period. |
3. Common Mistakes
Not tracking metrics during delivery
Social value data must be captured in real time throughout the project. If the contractor waits until a reporting deadline to start gathering local employment hours, apprenticeship weeks, or community engagement data, the information will be incomplete, inaccurate, or impossible to verify. Subcontractors must be contractually required to report their social value metrics monthly. Without a live tracking system, the Social Value Report becomes a retrospective estimate rather than an evidence-based record.
Social value commitments at tender that are not deliverable
There is a temptation at tender stage to over-commit on social value KPIs in order to score well in the evaluation. Commitments to deliver hundreds of apprenticeship weeks, extensive community engagement programmes, or very high local employment percentages may not be achievable given the project's location, duration, programme, and supply chain. Over-promising leads to under-delivery, contractual default notices, and reputational damage. Social value commitments must be realistic, achievable, and backed by a credible delivery plan from the outset.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between social value and CSR?▾
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company-wide, voluntary initiative that reflects the organisation’s values and commitment to ethical practices, environmental sustainability, and community support. It is driven by the company and applies across all its activities. Social value, by contrast, is project-specific and contractually obligated. On public-sector construction contracts, social value commitments are made at tender, evaluated as part of the procurement scoring, and become enforceable KPIs within the contract. Failure to deliver social value commitments can result in contractual default, financial penalties, or exclusion from future frameworks. CSR supports social value delivery, but the two are not the same thing.
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Construction Suite walks you through every required section with a guided Q&A — built to Social Value Act 2012 / PPN 06/20 — and generates a professionally formatted document in minutes.
Get started freeThis guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, regulations change and individual project circumstances vary. Construction Suite is a trading name of Xzist Digital Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
1. Social Value — Delivering Community Benefit as a Contract Obligation
Social value has moved from an aspiration to a contract obligation on publicly procured construction projects. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires public bodies to consider how the services they procure might improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the area. Procurement Policy Note PPN 06/20 goes further, mandating that social value is explicitly evaluated in the procurement process with a minimum weighting of 10% of the total score. Contractors who do not take social value seriously will lose tenders.
Social value must be planned from day one and tracked throughout delivery. Key performance indicators typically include local employment hours, apprenticeship weeks, SME supply chain spend, community engagement hours, training days, and environmental measures such as carbon reduction and waste diversion. The Social Value Report is the document that records these metrics against the commitments made at tender stage, demonstrating that the contractor is delivering the social value they promised.
Plan social value from day one
Social value commitments made at tender become contractual KPIs. If they are not planned into the programme, resourced, and tracked from the start of the project, the contractor will struggle to demonstrate delivery at reporting milestones and will face contractual scrutiny.