National TOMs and the Social Value Model for UK Suppliers
National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) and the government’s Social Value Model are frameworks UK buyers use to define and score social value in public tenders — covering areas such as equal opportunity, wellbeing, skills, and fighting climate change. Suppliers who write vague ‘we care about the community’ paragraphs leave marks on the table. This guide explains how TOMs and the Social Value Model show up in UK procurements in 2026 and how to build measurable, deliverable commitments.
Put this into practice
Social value scores favour prepared suppliers. TenderLedger helps you qualify UK tenders early so SV evidence can be planned, not improvised.
Why this matters commercially
Social value weightings of 10%+ are common — enough to decide close contests.
Buyers want measures and reporting, not slogans.
Over-promising creates contract delivery risk and reputational damage.
Local authorities may use TOMs frameworks with proxy values; central government often references the Social Value Model themes.
Consistent SV delivery becomes a reusable win theme.
How suppliers usually do this manually
Recycling the same SV essay for every region and buyer.
Listing charity donations unrelated to contract delivery.
No budget or owner for SV commitments post-award.
Ignoring the buyer’s stated Model/TOMs menu.
Leaving SV to the most junior writer.
Signals worth tracking
ITT annex naming Social Value Model themes or TOMs measures.
Weighting percentage for social value in award criteria.
Requirements to report hours, apprenticeships, spend with VCSEs, carbon metrics.
Local economic priorities in council procurements.
Method statements requesting baselines and targets.
Common mistakes to avoid
Commitments you cannot evidence at mobilisation.
Double-counting the same activity across multiple measures.
National promises on a single-site contract with no local link.
Forgetting TUPE-impacted staff when proposing workforce outcomes.
No contract management plan for SV reporting.
How TenderLedger supports this workflow
Earlier qualification leaves time to design credible SV offers.
Buyer history shows which SV themes recur for an authority.
Summaries extract SV weightings from packs quickly.
Pursuit records capture what you promised for later delivery tracking.
Renewal intelligence rewards suppliers who delivered SV last time.
Example in practice
A FM bidder replaced generic volunteering claims with measured local hiring and supply-chain spend targets tied to the council’s TOMs set — SV score jumped.
An IT supplier linked apprenticeships to the contract team roster and reported quarterly — the next re-competition cited delivery proof.
Practical workflow
Build a measure library mapped to Model themes and common TOMs.
For each bid: pick few high-relevance measures; quantify; name owners.
Cost SV delivery into the commercial model.
Align SV with method statements — evaluators read both.
After award: report on schedule; keep evidence for the next re-tender.
Why teams trust TenderLedger
- - Built for UK public procurement suppliers and bid teams
- - Uses official sources including Find a Tender and Contracts Finder
- - Designed for qualification, not just notice volume
About this data
TenderLedger aggregates UK public procurement signals from official sources including Find a Tender (FTS) and Contracts Finder. We combine notice metadata, contracting authorities, and award history into a consistent opportunity view for suppliers.
For these pages, we structure insights using procurement patterns commonly visible in award notices, framework call-offs, and DPS activity. The examples below are designed to mirror how supplier teams qualify bids day-to-day.
Author: TenderLedger Research Team
Last updated: 10 September 2026
FAQs
What are National TOMs?
A widely used social value measurement framework (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) adopted by many UK public buyers, especially local government, to specify and proxy-value social value offers.
What is the Social Value Model?
A central government model setting themes and policy outcomes for assessing social value in in-scope procurements. Check current Cabinet Office guidance for the live version.
Do all tenders use TOMs?
No. Some use the Social Value Model, some use local frameworks, some use bespoke questions. Always follow the ITT.
How do I write a strong social value response?
Be specific, measurable, relevant to the contract and locality, resourced, and reportable. Map directly to the buyer’s asked measures.
Can social value cost me the bid on price?
SV delivery has a cost — price it honestly. Unfunded promises risk both score challenge and later default.
Related pages
Suggested next reads
For a practical starting point, read UK contract renewal playbook and Find contracts likely to re-tender soon. Then compare Public procurement intelligence platform and Contract award tracking for a pipeline view. Finally, see Healthcare procurement intelligence for sector examples and qualification signals.
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