SALFORD WINS NATIONAL PRAISE FOR SOCIAL VALUE

Making sure that every pound it spends and every major development in the city creates social, economic and environmental benefits to the city has won Salford City Council praise at national level.

The council was highly commended in the Public Sector Leadership category for social value at the Social Value Conference 2023 hosted by the Social Value Portal and the National Social Value Taskforce and sponsored by ProLogis.

The category recognises “a public sector organisation which is leading the way in embedding social value into its culture and processes to make sure the needs of its community are being met.”

In addition to making sure that when it awards contracts for goods and services local people benefit, Salford is also the first council in England to require major developers to include social value commitments through the newly adopted Local Plan.

Councillor Jack Youd, lead member for finance said he was delighted with the commendation.

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“This is national recognition for the pioneering work we are doing in Salford to put social value – as well as value for money – at the heart of all our spending,” he said.

“It’s about taking every opportunity we can to get jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities for Salford people, asking suppliers to work with local schools to mentor and support pupils and encouraging them to give back to the city through staff volunteering.  It’s about keeping money in the local economy by using Salford or Greater Manchester based suppliers where possible and promoting the benefits of the real Living Wage.

“When developers come to us seeking planning permission for developments of 10 or more houses or non-residential floorspace of 1000 square metres or more we’re asking for a social value action plan as part of their application. We give them information on community needs and strengths, signpost them to organisations and programmes needing support and ask for details of how they will manage the environmental impact of their development to contribute to a greener Salford.

“We receive an average of 70 major planning applications every year and have contracts worth £58 million which are due to expire in the next few years so the potential gains to the city from our approach are huge.”