A UK Cabinet Office move to give greater weight to social value in public procurement has been welcomed by Catch22, but the idea is hardly new north of the border. Scotland has had its own procurement framework for years, using community benefits and the Sustainable Procurement Duty to push suppliers towards outcomes such as jobs, apprenticeships, training and work placements.
Catch22 said it had long urged ministers to use procurement more effectively to tackle youth unemploym...
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ent, arguing that buying goods and services should also create opportunities for people who are not in education, employment or training, as well as care leavers and those with long-term health conditions. The charity said the government’s new approach is aimed at generating extra social value through local growth, skills development and placements.
In Scotland, however, that logic has been built into policy since the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and associated guidance. Under the Scottish framework, public bodies must consider community benefit requirements for regulated contracts worth £4 million or more, and those provisions are also widely used on smaller contracts where proportionate. The Scottish Government’s procurement handbook says those requirements can cover training, recruitment and other measures intended to improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of an area beyond the main purpose of the contract.
Typical benefits in Scotland include jobs for priority groups, apprenticeships, work placements, qualifications and support for local suppliers, SMEs, third-sector bodies and supply-chain opportunities. The statutory guidance also places procurement within the wider Sustainable Procurement Duty, which asks authorities to consider how spending can improve wellbeing and help reduce inequality before a regulated contract is let.
The Scottish Government’s annual procurement report for 2024-25 says community benefits continue to be used to deliver local growth and skills outcomes, with public contracts generating jobs, apprenticeships, placements and qualifications. Interim guidance published in 2025 continues to emphasise those same themes, linking procurement with Fair Work First, equality and opportunities for SMEs, social enterprises and the third sector.
The contrast is less about substance than terminology. The UK central government’s Social Value Model uses that label, while Scotland tends to speak of community benefits. But the practical aim is strikingly similar: to use public buying power to produce wider social gains, not merely the cheapest bid. Scotland, in effect, has been doing that for more than a decade.
Source: Noah Wire Services
