Ce s-a întâmplat

On 28 October 2026 the Cabinet Office added its guidance on using PPN 026 to gov.uk. The note itself, PPN 026: The Social Value Model, came out on 5 August 2026 and promised the guidance for the autumn. Together they set the rules central government buyers will use from the new year:

  • Who: central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Other public bodies "may wish to adopt" it.
  • When: procurements of £1m or more (including VAT) under the Procurement Act 2023 that start on or after 1 January 2027, the day the tender notice is published. The guidance says PPN 026 replaces all previous social value PPNs.
  • Weighting: at least 10% of the total score for contracts of £1m to £5m, and at least 20% at £5m or more. Contracts of £5m or more need at least one social value KPI.
  • What counts: social value is defined as "good British jobs, skills and opportunities in every postcode". The model has two outcomes, good jobs (creating jobs, fair working conditions, fair pay) and skills (training, in-work progression, a talent pipeline).

We found no news report of the guidance on the day, only earlier commentary on the August note, so this story is checked against the gov.uk documents alone.

Ce înseamnă pentru compania dumneavoastră

Carbon leaves the Social Value Model. The 2020 model under PPN 06/20 had a theme called "Fighting Climate Change", with effective stewardship of the environment as its outcome. The PPN 002 model used since February 2025 put carbon under "Make Britain a clean energy superpower": outcome 4, sustainable procurement practices, asked for additional environmental benefits including working towards net zero, and its first reporting metric was the annual reduction in carbon emissions from the contract in tonnes of CO2e. We explained how that worked in our guide to carbon in social value tenders. PPN 026 has no environmental outcome. The only climate link is an example: buyers could pick skills for clean energy jobs as a target skill.

Carbon can still be scored, just outside social value. The guidance says buyers "are also able to take into account broader social value expectations, such as carbon emissions or modern slavery as set out in other PPNs or with their own weighting". It adds that this should be in addition to the 10% or 20% social value weighting and not part of it. So whether a central government tender scores carbon after January depends on the buyer.

Carbon Reduction Plans are unchanged. PPN 006 still requires a Carbon Reduction Plan as a condition of participation for central government contracts above £5 million a year. The gov.uk page shows no change since the FAQs were added on 10 July 2025. It is a pass or fail test of your whole organisation, so it was never part of the social value score.

Older frameworks keep the older model. For call-offs under frameworks set up between 24 February 2025 and 31 December 2026, buyers use PPN 002, and for frameworks from 1 January 2021 to 23 February 2025, PPN 06/20. The guidance asks them to pick jobs and skills outcomes even then, but carbon questions can still appear.

Councils and NHS bodies are not in scope. Councils have their own duty to consider environmental well-being, which we covered in what councils ask for on carbon in tenders. Read each tender's documents rather than assuming it follows PPN 026.

Ce trebuie făcut acum

  1. Keep your Carbon Reduction Plan current. If you bid for central government work above £5 million a year, it must be published, signed and updated every year. The free Carbon Reduction Plan checker shows whether you need one.
  2. Rework your social value answers for January. For central government tenders that start from 1 January 2027, plan answers around jobs, fair pay, training and apprenticeships, with KPIs you can report on.
  3. Keep your carbon answer ready. Buyers may still score carbon with its own weighting, older frameworks still use PPN 002, and many councils ask for it. Our guide to answering the tender climate question still applies there.
  4. Watch for the List of Community Programmes. The guidance says the Cabinet Office will publish it later, and buyers may attach parts of it to tenders.