Public Services (Social Value) Bill

My hon. Friend makes the interesting point that public sector-run organisations can be extremely successful and often are extremely efficient. The key issue we focused on in Committee is that when assets are transferred out of the public sector we need to ensure that if they have been built up over the years as a result of taxpayer investment, there will be proper protection for the social value that the assets have generated. My revised definition of social enterprise seeks to achieve that objective. The last amendment on which I want to focus is amendment 1, as the others are all consequential on the three new clauses. Amendment 1 would ensure that the one part of the original Bill to which we know the Government are committed is widened in scope. The Government want and the Opposition support further reforms to the public procurement process to encourage the Government in their various forms to take account of wider economic, social and environmental well-being in the commissioning process. The Bill places a duty on all commissioners in contracting authorities to consider how to improve social, economic and environmental well-being in services-only contracts that have a value above the EU procurement threshold and are at their pre-procurement stage. What was striking about the Minister's comments in Committee—I say this gently and with affection—was the vagueness of his explanations as to why the pre-procurement stage is the only stage covered and why only services are covered. Let me give the House a flavour of the exchange that took place, provoked largely by my right hon. Friend the Member for Salford and Eccles and my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green). The Minister said:"““I stress that it is not the Government's intention to suggest that there would not be benefits in considering wider value in other forms of contract, but we do not believe that they warrant legislation at this time.””" What he did not or would not explain was why the scope of this key, crucial clause should cover only services—although I accept that goods could be covered if the contract was primarily for services. In Committee, he forced through amendments that prevented the Bill from covering contracts for goods or for work.