Procurement Policy Note 026, The Social Value Model, published by the Cabinet Office on 5 August 2026. It sets how central government departments take account of social value when they award contracts.

When does PPN 026 apply?

To central government procurements that start on or after 1 January 2027 with a total contract value of £1 million or more, including VAT.

How much is social value worth in a PPN 026 evaluation?

At least 10% of the total score for contracts under £5 million and at least 20% for contracts of £5 million or more.

Does PPN 026 still cover carbon and the environment?

No. PPN 026 focuses on good jobs and skills. Carbon is still assessed through a Carbon Reduction Plan under PPN 006 where that applies.

Does PPN 026 set reporting metrics?

Yes, since the guidance issued in October 2026. Annex B lists 37 standard reporting metrics across the six criteria. Buyers use them as contract KPIs where one fits, and must set at least one Social Value Model KPI on contracts of £5 million or more.

PPN 026: the new Social Value Model, explained for contractors

On 5 August 2026 the Cabinet Office published Procurement Policy Note 026: The Social Value Model. It replaces the approach in PPN 002 for central government buyers and narrows social value to one question: does this contract create good jobs and build skills? This post covers what changed and what a contractor should set up before the first PPN 026 tender.

What PPN 026 covers

The model has two outcomes and six award criteria:

Outcome	Award criteria
Good Jobs: good employment opportunities in every postcode	Creating and retaining high quality jobs; fair working conditions; fair pay
Skills: learning and development that addresses skills needs and shortages	Training and retraining; in-work progression; talent pipeline

Buyers award points for going beyond the statutory minimum and for supporting people who face barriers to work. Apprenticeships, work placements and pre-employment training all sit under Skills.

PPN 002 had 17 award criteria across eight policy outcomes. PPN 026 has six across two.

When it applies and how it is weighted

Who: central government departments, for procurements that start on or after 1 January 2027.
Threshold: a total contract value of £1 million or more, including VAT. PPN 002 applied from the standard above-threshold level, so PPN 026 catches fewer, larger contracts.
Weighting: at least 10% of the total score for contracts under £5 million, and at least 20% at £5 million and above.

Detailed guidance on sub-criteria, the evaluation method and target groups was due in autumn 2026. Check each tender's documents for the version it uses.

What it no longer covers

Carbon, the environment and community wellbeing are no longer part of central government social value. Carbon is still assessed separately: bidders for central government contracts of £5 million a year or more usually need a Carbon Reduction Plan under PPN 006 (our guide).

Local authorities, NHS bodies and housing associations are not bound by PPN 026 and many still use the National TOMs framework. A contractor bidding across the public sector will often report PPN 026 KPIs, National TOMs and a PPN 006 plan in the same year.

Delivery is measured through KPIs

What you commit to in the bid becomes contract KPIs that the buyer's contract manager monitors. The guidance issued in October 2026 added 37 standard reporting metrics (Annex B), such as "number of apprenticeships created or retained under the contract" or "person hours of in-work progression upskilling", and asks buyers to use them where one fits. Several are counted for target cohorts: people not in education, employment or training, care leavers, veterans, prison leavers and others. For contracts of £5 million or more, the buyer sets at least one Social Value Model KPI and publishes a contract performance notice on the Central Digital Platform at least every 12 months.

Updated 6 November 2026: the August text set no metrics and buyers were reading it as three KPIs on large contracts. The October guidance sets the standard metrics and at least one Social Value Model KPI, on top of the KPIs the Procurement Act may require.

In practice that shifts the work from writing the answer to evidencing it for the life of the contract. A commitment such as "12 apprenticeship starts on the contract" needs:

A KPI with a number and a unit, linked to the award criterion it answers (here, Training and retraining).
A delivery log with a date and quantity for each start.
Evidence for each entry, such as the apprenticeship agreement, a training record or a payroll extract.
A reviewer's approval, so the figure you report to the contract manager is one you can show.

A checklist for your first PPN 026 bid

Decide which of the six criteria you can actually deliver on this contract. Do not commit to all six.
Write each commitment as a KPI with a target, a unit and a date, against the standard reporting metric it answers where there is one.
Agree with the site team who records delivery and what evidence they keep.
Keep the carbon answer separate: PPN 006 figures come from your published inventory, not from the social value section.
For bids to local authorities or the NHS, check whether they ask for National TOMs instead.

How MetricOra handles it

MetricOra holds the PPN 026 model as a framework you add to a contract. You set KPIs against each criterion and its standard reporting metric, log delivery with evidence files and the number of people reached from each target cohort, and see target against approved delivery. Checks flag a contract of £5 million or more with no KPI and a KPI with no metric, the next 12-month performance notice date is shown, and the KPIs export as a CSV for the buyer. The bid carbon pack lists each featured contract's PPN 026 KPIs beside its carbon and National TOMs. See the public sector page.

Sources

Do subcontractors need a Carbon Reduction Plan?
Under the government's PPN guidance, the contracting party needs the plan, not every subcontractor. But your main contractor may still ask you for one. Here is the rule, the exceptions and what to do when a buyer asks.
SECR vs PPN 006: what is the difference, and do you need both?
SECR is a company law disclosure in your annual report. PPN 006 is a bid requirement for large central government contracts. Different trigger, different document, overlapping data. Here is how they compare and how to run one dataset for both.
What is PPN 006? A plain-English guide for bidders
PPN 006 is the Cabinet Office procurement policy note that asks bidders for large central government contracts to publish a Carbon Reduction Plan. Here is what it is, who it covers, what changed from PPN 06/21 and what to do about it.

All articles

What PPN 026 covers

The model has two outcomes and six award criteria:

Outcome	Award criteria
Good Jobs: good employment opportunities in every postcode	Creating and retaining high quality jobs; fair working conditions; fair pay
Skills: learning and development that addresses skills needs and shortages	Training and retraining; in-work progression; talent pipeline

Buyers award points for going beyond the statutory minimum and for supporting people who face barriers to work. Apprenticeships, work placements and pre-employment training all sit under Skills.

PPN 002 had 17 award criteria across eight policy outcomes. PPN 026 has six across two.

When it applies and how it is weighted

Who: central government departments, for procurements that start on or after 1 January 2027.
Threshold: a total contract value of £1 million or more, including VAT. PPN 002 applied from the standard above-threshold level, so PPN 026 catches fewer, larger contracts.
Weighting: at least 10% of the total score for contracts under £5 million, and at least 20% at £5 million and above.

Detailed guidance on sub-criteria, the evaluation method and target groups was due in autumn 2026. Check each tender's documents for the version it uses.

What it no longer covers

Delivery is measured through KPIs

In practice that shifts the work from writing the answer to evidencing it for the life of the contract. A commitment such as "12 apprenticeship starts on the contract" needs:

A KPI with a number and a unit, linked to the award criterion it answers (here, Training and retraining).
A delivery log with a date and quantity for each start.
Evidence for each entry, such as the apprenticeship agreement, a training record or a payroll extract.
A reviewer's approval, so the figure you report to the contract manager is one you can show.

A checklist for your first PPN 026 bid

Decide which of the six criteria you can actually deliver on this contract. Do not commit to all six.
Write each commitment as a KPI with a target, a unit and a date, against the standard reporting metric it answers where there is one.
Agree with the site team who records delivery and what evidence they keep.
Keep the carbon answer separate: PPN 006 figures come from your published inventory, not from the social value section.
For bids to local authorities or the NHS, check whether they ask for National TOMs instead.

How MetricOra handles it

Sources

Do subcontractors need a Carbon Reduction Plan?
Under the government's PPN guidance, the contracting party needs the plan, not every subcontractor. But your main contractor may still ask you for one. Here is the rule, the exceptions and what to do when a buyer asks.
SECR vs PPN 006: what is the difference, and do you need both?
SECR is a company law disclosure in your annual report. PPN 006 is a bid requirement for large central government contracts. Different trigger, different document, overlapping data. Here is how they compare and how to run one dataset for both.
What is PPN 006? A plain-English guide for bidders
PPN 006 is the Cabinet Office procurement policy note that asks bidders for large central government contracts to publish a Carbon Reduction Plan. Here is what it is, who it covers, what changed from PPN 06/21 and what to do about it.

All articles

PPN 026: the new Social Value Model, explained for contractors

What PPN 026 covers

When it applies and how it is weighted

What it no longer covers

Delivery is measured through KPIs

A checklist for your first PPN 026 bid

How MetricOra handles it

Sources

See your own records traced this way.

PPN 026: the new Social Value Model, explained for contractors

What PPN 026 covers

When it applies and how it is weighted

What it no longer covers

Delivery is measured through KPIs

A checklist for your first PPN 026 bid

How MetricOra handles it

Sources

See your own records traced this way.