Social Value

Did you know that Trafford Council has secured £24 Million of social value back into the community?

The Council requires social value contributions on all contracts awarded of £50K and over and for every £1 spent, 53p has come back in Social Value. This investment goes back into the local communities to help with economic, environmental and community objectives. This can be through volunteering hours or supporting specific projects or initiatives. An example of social value in action is provided below.

Trafford Hong Kong newcomers

Trafford has a number of people settling in the area from Hong Kong as part of the British Nationals overseas programme. Exact numbers are not known but this is estimated to be in the region of at least 1,500 people. Under the scheme, newcomers have the right to work in the UK but do not have any separate recourse to public funds including Government benefits or free access to most adult education training courses.

Support

In August 2021 the Trafford Hong Kong newcomers wrote to Trafford Council asking for help settling into the area and helping newcomers move into employment. Trafford Council worked with partners to deliver employment support to the newcomers using key organisations Social Value commitments as they could not be signed up to any of the mainstream programmes.

Employment support event

An employment support event was organised by Trafford Council at UA92 on the 16 November 2021 and was attended by over 200 Hong Kong newcomers looking for help to get them into work. The event was supported by a number of organisations using their Social Value commitments including:

  • The Growth Company, who deliver several employment support programmes in GM had employment specialists on hand to provide one to one advice to people about CVs and job applications.
  • UA92 provided the venue for free and gave advice on how to apply to university.
  • Momentic and the Business Growth Hub provided business advisers to speak to those wanting to start or grow a business in the UK.
  • Trafford College Group provided advice to people on available training and how to convert their qualifications in the UK.
  • Two recruitment agencies provided advice on accessing the UK jobs market and signed up a number of people onto their books to work with them directly.

Successful event

The event was successful in helping a number of the Hong Konge newcomers move forward into employment and has been followed up with further employment and business support events over the past few months. This support would not have been possible without being able to utilise Social Value commitments as the Hong Kong newcomers were ineligible for any of the mainstream support the organisations offer.

Trafford Social Value Steering Group

Through the Trafford partnership, a Trafford Social Value Steering Group has been set up to promote and drive forward Social Value through the organisation and the supply chain to benefit the whole community.

The Steering group is made up of Trafford Council and other key partners working together. A Social Value Charter has been developed which sets out the key ambitions for how Trafford and partners will work together to fully embed social value in their operations and ensure both communities and businesses benefit from social value commitments. 

Social Value Action Plan

Underpinning the Charter is a Social Value Action Plan which sets out what will be delivered to embed social value across a range of Trafford organisations, focussing on a number of broad themes including:

  • Internal Management
  • Engagement
  • Policy and Scope
  • Outcomes and Measures
  • Commissioning
  • Procurement
  • Governance

More information

Check out our Social Value Charter and Action Plan.