Just as procurement teams were becoming familiar with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 002, another policy note has introduced a new Social Value Model.

Published in August 2026, PPN 026: The Social Value Model changes how organisations within its scope must consider social value from 1 January 2027.

The new model places greater emphasis on creating good jobs, developing skills and improving opportunities for people facing barriers to employment.

What does this mean for NHS procurement? With environmental and modern slavery outcomes removed from the model, how should NHS organisations address their wider sustainability and ethical procurement responsibilities?

What is changing

PPN 026 replaces the broader Social Value Model introduced through PPN 002. It narrows the model to two outcomes and six Model Award Criteria.

The new policy defines social value for central government contracts as:

Taking account of how a supplier will work for our communities to provide good British jobs, skills and opportunities in every postcode.

This definition shifts the focus towards employment, economic opportunity and skills development. It particularly considers people and communities experiencing disadvantage.

The model includes two outcomes.

Outcome one: Good Jobs

• creating and retaining high-quality jobs
• fair working conditions
• fair pay

Outcome two: Skills

• training and retraining
• in-work progression
• developing talent pipelines

The model focuses on meaningful employment opportunities, better job quality and skills development. It aims to help people enter, remain in and progress through employment.

For organisations directly within scope, the model also introduces revised minimum social value weightings:

These requirements apply to relevant covered procurements under the Procurement Act 2023. Applicable public contract thresholds and the scope of the PPN must also be considered.

What this means for the NHS

NHS trusts are not directly required to adopt PPN 026 from 1 January 2027.

The PPN applies to central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Other public sector organisations, including NHS trusts, may choose to adopt its approach.

NHS organisations are encouraged to align with national policy. Further direction is expected through the NHS England Social Value Playbook.

The procurement route is also important. PPN 026 applies to relevant procurements under the Procurement Act 2023. It does not automatically extend to healthcare service procurements undertaken under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR).

However, social value remains one of the five key criteria under the PSR.

Taking a strategic approach to social value

Many business-as-usual procurements may fall below the relevant financial thresholds. However, organisations still have an opportunity to take a more strategic approach to social value.

Not every procurement will justify a formal social value evaluation. Organisations should not introduce additional requirements if these are disproportionate to the contract’s nature or value.

However, procurement teams can still contribute to wider organisational and community priorities.

Rather than considering social value only for individual contracts, organisations can look across their procurement activity. This can help them identify opportunities to support the communities they serve.

Useful questions include:

• What are the greatest challenges facing the local population?
• Are there significant barriers to employment?
• Are there local skills shortages?
• Are some communities experiencing persistent deprivation?

The Indices of Multiple Deprivation provide a useful starting point. They can help organisations understand local inequalities and identify where social value activity could make the greatest difference.

Understanding these needs can support social value strategies that link procurement activity with meaningful local outcomes.

Organisations should also review their procurement pipelines. This can identify contracts that may come within future requirements and opportunities to deliver social value voluntarily, where relevant and proportionate.

Supporting community programmes

PPN 026 introduces Community Programmes as a new feature of the model.

These programmes will allow suppliers to support established initiatives that already deliver positive outcomes. This could reduce the need to develop a separate initiative for every contract.

Examples could include:

• employment support
• skills development
• work placements
• programmes for people facing barriers to employment

The Cabinet Office intends to publish a List of Community Programmes to support implementation.

Embedding net zero in procurement

Environmental outcomes are no longer included in the new Social Value Model. However, the NHS commitment to net zero remains unchanged.

The NHS continues to work towards net zero by 2045 for the emissions it can influence. This includes emissions associated with its supply chains.

The way procurement addresses carbon reduction will need to develop.

Environmental commitments have often formed part of social value evaluations. Suppliers may have been asked to demonstrate additional activities they could undertake to reduce emissions.

Organisations should increasingly embed carbon reduction throughout the procurement process. They should not treat it only as an optional additional benefit.

This means considering environmental impacts throughout the commercial lifecycle:

• Plan: identify environmental impacts and opportunities to reduce emissions
• Define: include relevant and proportionate sustainability requirements in specifications
• Procure: assess suppliers against applicable environmental requirements
• Manage: monitor delivery, supplier progress and carbon reduction commitments throughout the contract

Preparing for the April 2027 milestone

The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap introduces further requirements from 1 April 2027.

For contracts valued at £5 million or more each year, including value added tax, suppliers will need to provide an enhanced Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP). This will also apply to relevant new NHS frameworks and dynamic markets.

The enhanced CRP must cover all relevant global Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.

For applicable lower-value procurements above the relevant procurement thresholds, a CRP meeting the existing 2024 standard will replace the standalone Net Zero Commitment.

These requirements apply to relevant NHS procurement activity under the Procurement Act 2023 and the PSR. Proportionality and specified exceptions will remain important considerations.

This is a significant development, particularly for smaller suppliers that may previously have needed only a Net Zero Commitment.

Helping suppliers prepare through Evergreen

The NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment can help suppliers understand their sustainability maturity and prepare for future NHS requirements.

Evergreen is hosted within Atamis. It provides suppliers with an automatically generated maturity level and shows how closely their current practices align with NHS sustainability expectations.

The assessment is free and suppliers are encouraged to complete it annually.

Evergreen Level 2 aligns with the April 2027 NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap requirements. It can therefore provide a useful indication of supplier readiness.

However, Evergreen is a development and benchmarking tool. It does not replace procurement-specific compliance assessments.

NHS procurement teams should encourage suppliers to use Evergreen. The assessment can help suppliers identify areas for improvement and prepare for the transition.

Further information is available through the NHS Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment.

Green jobs and skills can also form part of social value commitments. These commitments must be relevant to the contract and the selected award criteria.

Modern slavery: a guidance gap, not a legislative gap

NHS organisations must also consider the NHS (Procurement, Slavery and Human Trafficking) Regulations 2025. These regulations came into force on 17 May 2026.

The regulations require NHS organisations to assess modern slavery risks in new procurements within scope. Organisations must also take reasonable steps to address the risks they identify.

There is no minimum financial threshold for this risk assessment. The nature and severity of the identified risks should determine the appropriate action, rather than the contract value alone.

What has changed for modern slavery requirements

Existing NHS guidance recommends using the modern slavery award criteria from PPN 002. These criteria are one option for mitigating risks in medium-risk and high-risk procurements.

However, PPN 026 does not include these specific criteria. This creates a guidance gap during the transition to the new model.

The legislative requirements remain in place. However, one of the measures previously recommended for addressing modern slavery through social value is being withdrawn.

Organisations can still address modern slavery through appropriate procurement measures. These could include:

• due diligence
• specifications
• award criteria
• contractual obligations

Any measures must be relevant and legally permissible. PPN 009 also remains applicable to relevant NHS procurement activity.

NHS England is reviewing its guidance to reflect the changing policy landscape. It will share further updates when these become available.

NHS England training

Two upcoming sessions will provide further information and practical guidance. The NHS England Sustainable Procurement Team and Department of Health and Social Care Commercial Policy Team will deliver the sessions.

1 December 2026: PPN 026 Social Value Model Introduction

This session will introduce the new Social Value Model. It will also cover changes to modern slavery and contract emissions reduction outcomes.

Register for the PPN 026 Social Value Model Introduction

10 December 2026: Social Value in the NHS

This interactive session will explore how NHS organisations can deliver social value throughout the commercial lifecycle. It will include identifying relevant outcomes and supporting community priorities.

Register for Social Value in the NHS

Both sessions will support NHS procurement and commercial teams to understand the changes and prepare for implementation.

Next steps for NHS organisations

PPN 026 introduces a narrower approach to social value. However, it does not reduce the importance of wider sustainability and ethical procurement responsibilities.

Instead, NHS organisations must consider how they address these responsibilities throughout the procurement and commercial lifecycle.

Procurement teams should:

• develop a clearer understanding of local social value priorities
• review procurement pipelines and identify relevant opportunities
• prepare suppliers for the next NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap milestone
• encourage suppliers to complete the Evergreen assessment
• identify and manage modern slavery risks appropriately
• monitor further guidance from NHS England

Further national guidance is expected, particularly on NHS alignment with PPN 026. Guidance is also needed on modern slavery mitigation following the removal of the previous social value criteria.

The East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub will continue to monitor developments and share updates that support NHS organisations and suppliers.

Social value, net zero and modern slavery should not be treated as separate tick-box exercises. Together, they support responsible procurement and the wider role of the NHS in improving outcomes for people and communities.