To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote governance volunteering more explicitly as a social value activity within public procurement and commissioning processes; and what steps they are taking to encourage organisations bidding for public contracts to support employees who undertake those roles.
The government recently announced its intention to make changes to social value that will put communities at the heart of social value practices. We are working with the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, alongside others, on this.
Contracting authorities must ensure that any requirement included in public contracting is relevant to the subject matter of the contract, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Governance volunteering may not be suited to all public procurements, but central government contracting authorities select relevant outcomes from the social value model, which is focused on priority outcomes including good jobs, skills and opportunities for those that face barriers to employment.
Answered on 13 Jul 2026