Battersea MP petitions Sadiq Khan for mandatory 'social value' in GLA public procurement

Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova has petitioned the Mayor of London to make social value a mandatory feature in Greater London Authority (GLA) public procurement contracts.

In 2021 public procurement accounted for £300 billion of government spending, nearly 1/3 of its national spend. The Public Services (Social Value) Act requires public bodies to consider how these procurement contracts will improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area.

Writing to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Ms de Cordova said that "whilst the Social Value Act provides a template for including social value within procurement, it lacks a firm obligation to ensure contracting bodies include social value in procurement".

Ms de Cordova, asking the Mayor of London "whether social value can be made mandatory in procurement contract design" said the GLA could lead by example in going beyond the requirements of the Public Services Act.

The Battersea MP with a citation to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) highlighted public procurement as "a key means by which diversity can be delivered".

She added: "Unfortunately, recent research by Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has found that Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority owned businesses are particularly disadvantaged by public sector processes".

In the first instance, Ms de Cordova has asked Mr Khan to convene a GLA Taskforce to establish effective measures to boost the inclusion of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority businesses in public procurement.

Read the full letter Marsha de Cordova MP has written to Sadiq Khan here.