Community Benefit Clauses
Scottish equivalent of social value: contract clauses requiring suppliers to deliver wider community benefits.
Definition
Community Benefit Clauses are the Scottish equivalent of social value: contract clauses requiring suppliers to deliver wider community benefits as part of their delivery. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires Scottish public sector buyers to consider community benefits in above-threshold procurement and (for contracts above £4 million) to either include community benefit clauses or explain in writing why they have not. The clauses can cover training, employment, supply chain opportunities, environmental benefits, or wider community wellbeing.
How it works in practice
Community Benefit Clauses operate similarly to social value but with Scottish-specific framing. Common clauses include: apprenticeships and training places for specific demographic groups (long-term unemployed, care leavers, disabled people), SME and third-sector supply chain commitments, community engagement and volunteering, environmental commitments (carbon reduction, biodiversity, waste management), and Fair Work commitments aligned with the Scottish Government Fair Work First framework. Scottish public sector procurement has been consistently ambitious on community benefits, often setting weightings comparable to or higher than the English PPN 002 10 percent threshold. The Fair Work First framework adds specific workforce commitments: Real Living Wage, no inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts, action on the gender pay gap, channels for workforce voice, investment in workforce development. Suppliers bidding into Scottish public sector should be familiar with both Community Benefit Clauses and Fair Work First; KimonBids includes Scottish-specific guidance alongside the broader social value module. The clauses become contract obligations and are tracked as KPIs through delivery; underperformance affects the supplier conduct record.
Common questions
Are Community Benefit Clauses mandatory in Scottish public sector?
For contracts above £4 million the buyer must either include community benefit clauses or explain in writing why they have not. Below that threshold inclusion is discretionary but increasingly common. Many Scottish public bodies include community benefit considerations in much smaller procurements as well.
What is Fair Work First?
A Scottish Government framework requiring above-threshold Scottish public sector contracts to evidence Real Living Wage payment, no inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts, action on the gender pay gap, channels for workforce voice, and investment in workforce development. Aligned to the broader Scottish industrial strategy and Fair Work agenda.
How do Community Benefit Clauses compare to PPN 002?
PPN 002 is England-focused central government guidance with 10 percent minimum weighting for social value using the TOMs framework. Community Benefit Clauses are Scotland-specific with no fixed weighting but strong cultural expectation of substantial weighting (often 10-20 percent). The frameworks are not identical but cover similar territory; suppliers operating in both jurisdictions need to be familiar with both.