Council to commit to making life better

Plymouth City Council is to announce a new commitment to making life better in Plymouth by ensuring all future contracts have a ‘social value’ clause.

The Council hopes to lead by example by ensuring all its future work brings value and benefits to society, the local economy, and at the same time reduces damage to the local environment.

The new Social Value and Sustainability statement is being presented to the Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 31 March, in response to recommendations from the Plymouth Fairness Commission.

Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “In many ways we are already doing a lot of this work in Plymouth. The new Social Value and Sustainability policy we are going to develop will, however, embed these values across every aspect of the

Council’s work, with the aim of spreading the word to other organisations across Plymouth.

“Our policy will respond to the report by the Fairness Commission, published in March 2014, which stated that every pound spent in the public sector in Plymouth should add social value back into the city.”

The Fairness Commission report also asks all public, charitable and private sector organisations in Plymouth to develop social value and sustainability statements with clear social value outcomes and measures when commissioning goods and services.

Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Cooperatives, Housing and Community Safety for Plymouth City Council, said: “Over the next six months, the Council will agree a Social Value and Sustainability policy that builds on the work we are already doing, and goes above and beyond our legal requirements.

“We will work with local stakeholders to develop the policy and build on the recommendations of the Fairness Commission’s report.

“We are working to become a Living Wage City and other areas in which we are already delivering social value include through Plymouth Energy Community, our commitment to Fairtrade, and through the Sustainable Fish City programme.

“We want to make sure we maximise the benefits to Plymouth of ever pound we spend, not just buying goods and services, but looking at how much extra social value the money we spend can lever.”