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THE SOCIAL VALUE MODEL IS CHANGING: WHAT PPN 026 MEANS FOR YOUR BIDS
The rulebook for evaluating social value in central government procurement has officially changed.
The Cabinet Office has published Procurement Policy Note 026 (PPN 026), overhauling the Social Value Model and superseding PPN 002. Relevant procurement teams are being encouraged to transition to the new model before it becomes mandatory for all in-scope procurements commencing on or after 1 January 2027.
Here is everything you need to know about the change, what it means for your pipeline, and how Code First Girls ensures your social value responses score top marks.
What's changing? Key updates to the Social Value Model
The government is stripping away vague promises and focusing strictly on direct economic impact: British jobs, skills, and opportunities in every postcode.
- Social Value Weighting Doubled to 20% on Major Bids
- Contracts £1m – £5m: Attract a minimum mandatory social value weighting of 10%.
- Contracts £5m+: Attract a minimum mandatory social value weighting of 20%.
- Streamlined Framework: 2 Outcomes & 6 Model Award Criteria (MACs)
- Central government has replaced the previous 17 MACs – which assessed suppliers across 5 themes – with just two central outcomes:
- Outcome 1: Good Jobs (MAC 1a: Job creation/retention | MAC 1b: Fair working conditions | MAC 1c: Fair pay)
- Outcome 2: Skills (MAC 2a: Training/retraining | MAC 2b: In-work progression | MAC 2c: Talent pipeline)
📌 Important Scope Note: The new Social Value Model under PPN 026 only applies to Central Government departments, their Executive agencies, and non-departmental public bodies. It does not automatically apply to local authorities, the NHS, or education buyers, who continue to evaluate broader community and health outcomes.
3. Refocused Priority Target Groups
The priority demographics under PPN 026 have been refined. Groups explicitly named in the previous model – such as prison leavers and kinship carers – are absent from the new PPN. Instead, PPN 026 explicitly focuses on:
- Young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET)
- Individuals moving from education into work
- People with a long-term health condition or disability
- Care leavers
- Strict Accountability & Exclusion Rules
- For central government contracts over £5m, buyers must set at least one published social value KPI.
- Commitments will be tracked annually on the Central Digital Platform.
- Suppliers who continuously fail to deliver against their social value KPIs risk being excluded from future government tenders.
What does this mean for your business?
- Vague ESG language won’t cut it: Central government evaluators will no longer award marks for generic community efforts. Environmental or health initiatives may still add value but they are no longer standalone priorities for central government tenders.
- You need auditable, data-backed metrics: Because KPI delivery is now tied to future bidding eligibility, you need a social value partner who provides transparent, trackable data on hiring and upskilling.
- Your delivery model must focus on people: Winning public sector tenders now requires showing exactly how your workforce strategy delivers fair pay, flexible working, skills progression, and diverse talent pipelines.
How Code First Girls helps you deliver, and prove, social value
Our Recruit-Train-Deploy (RTD) model and education packages slot directly into PPN 026.
Here is how it powers Outcome 1 (Good Jobs) under the new Social Value Model:
Using our Recruit-Train-Deploy model, we place high-potential, trained candidates from underrepresented backgrounds directly into your project delivery team. Over half of our consultants are career switchers – including NEETs – transitioning straight into secure tech careers.
Depending on your contract requirements, we can scale this delivery by providing senior talent across SFIA levels 2–6.
Alternatively, we can supply a tailored, NEET-specific package for your bid. You invest directly in the tech careers of local NEETs, with the flexibility to integrate talent into your organisation at any level.
And it doesn’t stop at deployment – we also directly fulfill Outcome 2 (Skills):
Beyond managing all logistics, the Code First Girls team provides ongoing weekly 1:1 technical coaching to support every consultant’s in-work progression. Crucially, our reinvestment model ensures that for every consultant deployed in your business, we fund free tech education directly back into local communities. This helps build a sustainable talent pipeline for the future.
Better yet, it’s fully measurable. For every tech consultant deployed through Code First Girls, we can show:
- Detailed diversity data (gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity, first-generation grads, career switchers, underserved regions – IMD 1-3 postcodes)
- Hours of training completed
- Employment outcomes achieved
- Additional social return through community reinvestment (for every woman deployed, 10+ are trained)
Winning bids with confidence
Because our model is tried, tested, and backed by years of delivering education linked to employment to underrepresented groups, we can support you in building a strong, compliant social value response in your bid. That includes:
- Language that speaks directly to the Social Value Model (PPN 026) criteria
- Regional breakdowns for local impact scoring
- Reporting frameworks to track delivery post-contract
Maximise Social Value in Public Sector Bids with Code First Girls
By integrating the Code First Girls RTD model into a workforce strategy, companies can not only bridge the tech skills gap, but also fulfil key criteria within the Social Value Model. With our focus on inclusivity, job creation, and skills development, our programmes align closely with the framework, enabling companies to submit stronger, more socially impactful bids, and successfully contribute to their own diverse and skilled tech workforce.
