Procurement and s106
Apprenticeships in the supply chain
Each year local authorities spend a large amount of money on works, goods and services, which are essential to the delivery of services for the community. In procuring and commissioning such works, goods and services, local authorities have an opportunity to implement a range of initiatives that can provide local skills training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities.
Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
Since 2013 local authorities have been bound by the Act, which requires public bodies to take into account how their procurement decisions can improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their area.
In practice this will mean different things in different areas, and local authorities will want to tailor their implementation of the Act to meet local needs.
Read guidance from the Cabinet Office for procurers.
Sources of guidance and further information
Useful guidance to help you encourage employment and skills through procurement:
London Councils Resources
- London Councils has produced guidance for London boroughs, including model documents and clauses, to support the inclusion of employment and skills requirements in procurement. You can download the guidance here, and the model documents are also available as a Word document here.
- Myth busting for boroughs
- Myth busting for suppliers
Other Resources
- A useful how-to guide: IDeA Targeting Jobs and Training through Procurement Guide
- Flowchart for employment and skills strategy
- Flowchart for procurement over OJEU threshold
- Flowchart for procurement under OJEU threshold - Information about the Greater London Authority Group's approach to Responsible Procurement: GLA responsible procurement approach
- Legal information about procurement: Trovers and Hamlins Construction Procurement presentation
Case Studies
Examples of local authorities utilising procurement to increase local employment and skills:
Manchester People into Construction Scheme
Manchester City Council sustainable procurement policy
South Tyneside Impact of Social Clauses
Manchester City Council Aspire Scheme
City of London Community Benefit Clauses
LB Haringey BSF Apprenticeship programme
London borough case studies using Section 106
- London Borough of Hillingdon's planning obligations guidance also details how they include employment and skills in planning and their approach to construction projects
- London Borough of Southwark's Section 106 guidance for developers includes detailed information and formulae to calculate required contributions across different areas, including employment and skills (an example of the contributions in action is the More London development, where jobs and skills training have been delivered through s106 contributions)
- the Planning Obligations Guidance from the Royal Borough of Greenwich sets out the range and level of contributions which will be expected from developments in the borough (this includes methods for calculating contributions towards employment and training)
- London Borough of Ealing's Supplementary Planning Document 9 describes the range of planning obligations they may impose on developments, how they go about setting priorities and the indicative level of contributions for different types of contribution, including Community and Economic Capacit