New guidance launched: what social value now means for scaffolding contractors
NASC has published new guidance titled EG5:26 Understanding Social Value in Training and Education for Public Procurement, setting out what social value now means for scaffolding and access contractors working on public sector projects.
Social value is no longer viewed as an additional benefit or standalone initiative. It is a measurable expectation that sits alongside quality, safety, cost and programme delivery, and the requirements are tightening.
What is changing
PPN 002 introduced a minimum social value weighting of 10% of the total tender score, or equivalent measurement, and became mandatory for applicable procurements commenced on or after 1 October 2025.
In August 2026 the Government published PPN 026: The Social Value Model, which applies to procurements commencing on or after 1 January 2027. It covers central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, for procurements with a total contract value of £1 million including VAT or above commenced under the Procurement Act 2023. Other public sector contracting authorities may also choose to adopt the approach.
Under PPN 026 the weightings rise with contract value. From £1 million to under £5 million including VAT, the minimum social value weighting is 10%. At £5 million or more including VAT, it is 20%. For contracts with an estimated value of £5 million or more, at least one social value KPI should be established.
The revised model has two principal outcomes: Good Jobs, and Skills. Both are particularly relevant to the scaffolding sector, where employers can create measurable social value through apprenticeships, structured work experience, careers engagement, training, recruitment and progression opportunities.
Both models may continue to be encountered during the transition period, depending on when the procurement commenced.
The part worth reading twice
The guidance is direct about the commercial risk. Social value commitments made at tender stage can flow through the supply chain and become contractual delivery and reporting requirements. They are not supporting statements.
Its advice is that businesses should not make commitments solely to strengthen a tender without considering the practical and commercial implications of delivering them. Any social value commitment should be specific, measurable, achievable, appropriately costed and capable of being evidenced.
It also makes clear that volunteering time, donations, administration and reporting should not automatically be treated as cost-free.
What else is in it
Six approaches to delivering social value in scaffolding, covering entry pathways and workforce development, work experience and industry exposure, local employment and supply chains, community engagement, health, safety and wellbeing, and environmental responsibility. Suggested quotation wording for identifying what is and is not included in a price. A worked social value commitment record. And a twelve-point checklist to run through at tender, pre-start and delivery stages.
