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Mayor Steve Rotheram’s commitment to spread social value across the Liverpool City Region has helped to create new jobs, investment, voluntary work and donations, according to a new report.
The Social Value Annual Report found that the Combined Authority’s Social Value Policy and Framework, which was launched in April last year, has led to the creation of more than 130 full-time jobs and eight apprenticeships.
It has ensured that the Combined Authority’s £100m devolved annual funding budget prioritises delivering benefits to local communities, with 65% of all contracts above £20,000 delivering social value. This is helping to deliver the Mayor’s manifesto pledge to build a region where no one is left behind.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“As Mayor, it’s my duty to ensure that every penny we spend and every decision we take positively impacts the communities that we represent. Because true prosperity is not just about maximising the financial value that we are able to generate, but the social value too.
“Every year, the Combined Authority spends more than £100m and, in doing so, I want to ensure that we’re getting the biggest bang for our buck and making the greatest difference possible. That could be by investing in projects led by underrepresented groups, improving people’s confidence and ability to find work, or easing their money worries by improving the energy efficiency of their homes. I don’t want the Combined Authority to just make good investments, but investments that do good too.
“I want to make the Liverpool City Region the fairest, most inclusive place in the country with an economy that works for everyone. Ensuring that we are embedding social value in everything that we do will be key to bringing that vision to life – and this report shows that we’re already making a massive difference.”
Councillor Tony Brennan and Angela Davis at the Eco Therapy Farden in Kirkby
Social value has been delivered through a range of Combined Authority-funded programmes, including:
• Community interest company Kindred, which used an initial £1m investment to create 77 new jobs and attract £10.5million of additional funding.
• An employee volunteer scheme worth £225,000 to organisations.
• Hundreds of phones and laptops were donated to jobseekers alongside £55,000 in resources and equipment for schools, food banks and charities.
• Race equality training for the CA’s 1,000 employees and 21,000 local authority workers used an estimated impact of £400 per trainee to create £8m in social value.
• The region’s full fibre network LCR Connect, a half publicly owned joint venture, delivered 20 full-time jobs, six apprenticeships and three work experience opportunities.
• Households into Work, which supports long term unemployed residents, helped 185 people secure entry-level IT qualifications.
• The Combined Authority’s £55m Adult Education Budget saw a range of benefits to community organisations, including £1.1 million in-kind contributions such as staff time, equipment, room hire and IT support.
• Further education employees and students completed 14,000 hours of volunteering.
• Construction of Headbolt Lane station, in Kirkby, created improvements to the public realm. Two local people were recruited to work on the project, career development sessions were held in schools and a work academy led to eight people going on to secure full-time jobs.
The Social Value Annual Report was approved by the Combined Authority at its meeting on June 9.
