To ask the Minister of Health whether all contracts, tenders or grants to deliver frontline services in the community includes provision for mental health support for the contractor’s staff.

Since the introduction of the Procurement Policy Note 0121 Scoring Social Value, all service contracts procured since June 2022 must include 10% award criteria for scoring social value. SPPG is now fully compliant with PPN 0121 Scoring Social Value.

As a result, all above threshold Social Care Service tenders include a minimum I 0% award criteria on Scoring Social Value. For some contracts, the scoring will include social value themes one of which is about supporting the health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health, in the contract workforce.

SPPG ensures that when above threshold contracts and services are tendered, those providers that do provide or include support of this sort, have this acknowledged in their application and this will be rewarded within the Contracts Adjudication Group (CAO) scoring scheme.

SPPG will consider the option to include for the provision of a requirement to consider the mental health support for the contractor's staff in future early years grant schemes.