A revamped skate park, financial support for local community groups and laptops are just some of the benefits Barking and Dagenham Council has secured under its social value policy in the last 12 months.

The scheme, which has been running for three years and applies to all procurement contracts over £100,000, requires potential contractors to commit to delivering wider benefits for the borough and its residents.

This can include a range of economic, social and environmental initiatives, such as support and training for people who are unemployed, providing apprenticeships and work placements, delivering careers advice in schools, donating money to help local projects, or providing shared office space for voluntary and community groups.

Over the last year, the council has secured £28,000 funding for groups covering a range of issues such as domestic abuse survivors and cookery classes. As well as this, 61 work experiences, work placements and paid-for roles have been carried out, with a further 55 apprenticeships currently taking place through the Council’s wholly owned companies.

The social policy has also helped secure a host of equipment including laptops, books, benches and planters, with the largest single project involved a £40,000 revamp of a skate park in Thames View, which was funded by council partner Clear Channel UK and delivered by subcontractors JCS. 

Councillor Sade Bright, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills & Aspiration, said: “Like many councils around the country, we’re forced to do more with less because of cuts to the grants we receive from government which have affected our budgets and the money we have available to spend on services.

“As a result, we need to find innovative ways that make our residents’ money work harder – and the social value policy is helping to do just that by delivering thousands of pounds of benefits from single projects through to employment opportunities and equipment.”

Each year the council spends on average around £400million purchasing vital goods and services including caring for our most vulnerable residents, building new homes, schools and providing other infrastructure. The Social Value Policy links into the council's wider commitment to Inclusive Growth for all of its residents.

In recent years, the social value policy has secured equipment such as mud kitchens and bird boxes, training workshops and mentoring schemes, as well as over £20,000 to improve green spaces with trees and benches.

For more about the social value policy visit https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/social-value-policy