SOCIAL enterprises in the Black Country could receive an £87m cash boost if the construction sector delivers on its commitment to the Social Value Act.

Melanie Mills, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise West Midlands CIC, believes contractors and commissioners are missing out on a supply chain that can offer competitive pricing, excellent service and innovative solutions.

More than 150 delegates attended the ‘Social Value in Construction’ conference at University of Wolverhampton Science Park, which also saw a series of best practice masterclass sessions delivered and a ‘Meet the Buyer Exchange’ featuring Kier Construction, Balfour Beatty, Mears Group and Speller Metcalfe.

Commissioning organisations, including social housing associations, local authorities and the University, were also in attendance.

Melanie said: “Construction in the West Midlands alone is worth an estimated £8.7bn so if we can leverage just one per cent of spend it could be worth up to £87m for social enterprises.

“I believe it should just be the start for this industry; it is already an early adopter and this can further help as they look to embrace more ethically based businesses by giving organisations outside of its mainstream supply base the chance to tender for work.”

She added: “We have a significant number of social enterprises in the Black Country offering trade skills that can help fill the recognised construction skills gap, but it doesn’t need to end there.

“The offer could include wellbeing specialists, catering firms, landscaping or even providing the marketing collateral for major projects.

“There is a definite commitment from the wider construction sector to be involved in developing sustainable legacies in the communities in which they operate as part of their corporate social responsibility delivery.”

Hazel Blears, co-author of the Social Value Act, added her support: “We are challenging all construction firms and public organisations to go away and appoint at least one social enterprise contractor in the next six months.

“If they take this simple measure it will cause a positive groundswell of opinion in the sector and hopefully go some way to adding £87m to the social enterprise economy.”