In this, the fifth and final blog in our series on social value, we look at recent changes to the Social Value Model (SVM) and what that means for tender bids.
As the rest of our blog series on social value has explained, the importance of this concept has grown and now accounts for at least 10% of marks in public sector tenders. It is no longer enough to make promises and say ‘we will deliver x, y and z’. Tender bids now need to provide specifics – the who, what, why, where, when and how – social value will be delivered.
The SVM is the framework that UK central government sector bodies must use to embed social value into their tenders.
Published in September 2020 by the Cabinet Office, there are currently two different versions of the SVM in use.
- The original SVM (also known as version PPN06/20) published in 2020
- The recently updated version, PPN 002, published in 2025. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘new social value model’.
What has changed?
The PPN 06/20 was created to make social value mandatory for central government contracts. It was based on five themes: COVID-19 recovery, prosperous economy, better public services, healthier environment, and societal wellbeing. It also provided a menu of outcomes and criteria for contracting authorities to use.
The PPN 002 – also known as the ‘new social value model’ – was originally published in February 2025 but becomes mandatory next month (October 2025) under the Procurement Act 2023. The original five themes were replaced with five strategic ‘missions’ that are more aligned to government objectives. These include:
- Kickstart economic growth with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country.
- By 2030, Britain should become a clean energy superpower, cutting bills, creating jobs, and delivering security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity, accelerating to net zero.
- Take back our streets by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system.
- Reforming our childcare and education systems to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure there is no class ceiling on young people’s ambitions.
- Build an NHS fit for the future that is there when people need it, with fewer lives lost to the biggest killers.
The PPN 002 also provides a streamlined menu of outcomes, criteria, and metrics for more targeted and measurable social value, aligning procurement with national goals.
What does PPN 002 mean for tenders?
Given these changes, when you respond to a tender you must:
- When demonstrating social value in a bid, ensure you align it to the missions in PPN 002 and the associated Model Award Criteria (MACs) rather than generic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) statements.
- Show how you will measure and report on your social value pledges and activity if you were to win the contract.
- Anticipate that the commissioner may incorporate your social value deliverables into the contract and hold you accountable for them via social value Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The new model emphasises the importance of this integration.
- Be clear about local outcomes – geographic or community-based – and how your business adds social value to the local community and local economy beyond simply meeting the contract scope.
TOMs versus the SVM – what bidders must know
While the SVM is the central government model, many local authorities and other public-sector bodies continue to use or reference the National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes and Measures) framework.
The key distinction is that TOMs tends to focus more on measurement, often with proxy values (monetised social value), and is used at local authority level, while SVM is primarily about qualitative scoring of social value commitments in the tender evaluation (although measurement matters in contract delivery).
If you’re bidding for both national government and local authority contracts, you will need to know and understand both frameworks.
Our advice would be, rather than trying to use a combination of both to cover all bases, you check with the commissioner which framework they are using and shape your bid accordingly.
If you need support with government or local authority bids, or in demonstrating your social value activity, we can help. To talk to a member of our team, call 0330 133 8823 or email info@klowconsulting.com