From Catch22 yesterday, the above and:

Catch22 has long recommended that government should invest more, without additional costs, into tackling youth unemployment through revising the social value model applied when it buys goods and services. We therefore welcome today’s Cabinet Office announcement of new measures for using public procurement to create jobs and address skills development.

The new measures will mean that, when awarding contracts, the government will give more weighting to how its potential suppliers will generate additional social value outcomes for local growth, tackling skills shortages, and apprenticeships and work placements opportunities. We are particularly pleased that this new Social Value Model aims to benefit those who need it most: young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), care leavers, and those with long-term health conditions.

https://www.catch-22.org.uk/resources/catch22-responds-to-new-public-procurement-measures-to-tackle-the-youth-unemployment-crisis/

There’s not a mention of Scotland in the above – no really? Yup.

That leads two questions.

1. Is there a comparable youth unemployment crisis in Scotland?
2. Will the Scottish Government need to copy the UK Government’s latest initiative?

We’ve done the first already:

Full text at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=youth+employment

Has the Scottish government done any thing like this?

Yes, since 2014. The Scottish Government has long-standing policies and practices that closely parallel the UK central government approach of giving greater weight in public contract awards to suppliers’ additional social value outcomes focused on local growth, skills shortages, apprenticeships, and work placements. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-annual-procurement-report-2024-2025/pages/4/

Scotland uses the framework of community benefits (and the broader Sustainable Procurement Duty) rather than the exact “Social Value Model” terminology from the recent Cabinet Office announcement (which initially applies to central UK government). Key elements include: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-procurement-policy-handbook/pages/13/

• Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, public bodies must consider including community benefit requirements for regulated contracts valued at £4 million or more. These are defined as contractual requirements relating to training and recruitment, availability of sub-contracting opportunities, or other measures intended to improve the economic, social, or environmental wellbeing of the area in a way additional to the main purpose of the contract. Their use is also encouraged (and commonly applied) below that threshold where relevant and proportionate. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-procurement-policy-handbook/pages/13/
• Typical community benefits explicitly target outcomes such as:
  • Jobs and recruitment from priority/disadvantaged groups.
  • Apprenticeships (including for priority groups).
  • Work placements (for pupils, students, graduates, and priority groups).
  • Training, qualifications, and skills development.
  • Support for local suppliers, SMEs, third-sector organisations, and supply-chain opportunities that aid local economic growth. https://www.gov.scot/publications/procurement-reform-scotland-act-2014-statutory-guidance/pages/8/
• These sit within the Sustainable Procurement Duty, which requires authorities to consider how procurement can improve economic, social, and environmental wellbeing (with a particular focus on reducing inequality) before carrying out regulated procurements. Procurement is also expected to support Scotland’s National Performance Framework outcomes, including those related to employment, skills, places, and communities. https://www.gov.scot/publications/procurement-reform-scotland-act-2014-statutory-guidance/pages/3/
• In practice, Scottish Government and wider public-sector contracts regularly embed and deliver these outcomes. Recent reporting shows hundreds of jobs, apprenticeships, work placements, and qualifications generated through community benefits clauses. Updated guidance (including interim guidance published in 2025) continues to emphasise employment, skills, and training outcomes, links to Fair Work First, equality, and opportunities for SMEs/social enterprises/third sector, with practical tools, example clauses, and KPIs. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-annual-procurement-report-2024-2025/pages/4/

Unlike the UK central government Social Value Model (which has mandated a minimum weighting, e.g., around 10% in related guidance), Scotland does not impose a fixed minimum percentage weighting for social/community benefits in evaluation. Instead, authorities are expected to consider and include them proportionately as part of value-for-money and award criteria, and they can form part of quality/evaluation scoring. Community benefits can be mandatory requirements or evaluated proposals from bidders. https://www.tussell.com/insights/what-is-social-value

In short, Scotland has operated a well-established equivalent system for years through legislation, statutory guidance, the Public Procurement Strategy, annual reporting, and tools that prioritise precisely the kinds of local growth, skills, apprenticeship, and work-placement outcomes described in the Catch22 article.