 suggests judging all firms in line with the 'social value model', regardless of their size or specialism, has come at a high cost. Additional £141.7bn spend A new paper by the think tank, The Price of Everything, the Social Value of Nothing, found that Whitehall procurement failures have incurred additional state spending of £141.7 billion throughout the past 30 years. Public sector procurement reached £379 billion in 2021-22, accounting for one-third of the Government's total budget – a higher ratio than most of Britain's international competitors. 'Given the increased complexity of new procurement methods, value for money is no longer a priority,' the report said. 'Social value has influenced every sector of the Government's levelling-up and net zero programme, with considerations over reducing inequality, environmental and wellbeing concerns affecting every procurement decision.' Small businesses 'crowded out' It adds that small businesses have been 'crowded out' by competitors under the current framework of red tape , with larger corporations 'much more easily' able to absorb the costs of meeting five overarching social value criteria. The most recent version of the social value model sets out five key themes – recovering from the pandemic, tackling economic inequality, fighting climate change, equal opportunity and well-being. Its section on Covid-19 recovery judges whether firms are helping increase the number of people in full-time employment who were made redundant during lockdowns, which the ASI criticised as 'prioritising employment for the sake of employment'. Tackling economic inequality is deter){kind=link}
Authorities must consider costly ‘social, economic and environmental benefits’ when awarding public sector contracts
Civil service procurement rules may have cost taxpayers an estimated £50 billion in the past decade, a scathing new report has found.
Rules first introduced by the coalition government of 2010-15 mean authorities must consider “wider social, economic and environmental benefits” when awarding public sector contracts.
But research by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) suggests judging all firms in line with the “social value model”, regardless of their size or specialism, has come at a high cost.
A new paper by the think tank, The Price of Everything, the Social Value of Nothing, found that Whitehall procurement failures have incurred additional state spending of £141.7 billion throughout the past 30 years.