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We have helped 317 tenants and residents into employment, taken on 53 apprentices and spent more than £25m in Bolton over the last year.

Those were among the statistics revealed last night when we hosted an event to report on our social value impact.

Social value is defined as the positive changes people experience in their lives due to the actions of an organisation or business.

It includes the community benefits provided by an organisation’s purchasing policies, for example by working with suppliers that offer apprenticeship opportunities and pay staff fairly.

Among the other social value benefits provided by us were:

• Over £5 million in grants and other benefits gained for tenants and residents
• £4 million spent on supporting voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations
• £428,000 inward investment grants secured for VCSE partners
• 100% of staff paid at least the ‘Real Living Wage’
• 254 work experience placements for people
• Over 63,000 volunteer hours delivered by staff, tenants and residents
• 92% of business waste recycled
• 165 homes let to people who were previously homeless.

Jon Lord, our chief executive, said: “We do social good by working in various ways that can make a difference to people’s lives. It’s about supporting individuals and communities all year-round, both directly and indirectly.

“I’m delighted we could help 895 tenants and residents towards employment overall and support 209 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations. Highlighting such activities helps people to know some of the different ways we can support them as well as providing affordable homes.”

The event was held at the Green Café within our Valley House office in Waters Meeting Road and attended by local business partners, voluntary organisations, social enterprises, and tenant representatives.

We reported on social value benefits provided between April 2018 and March 2019. Our social value goals include promoting employment, raising living standards, promoting participation and citizen engagement, supporting the voluntary sector, and promoting equity, fairness and sustainability.

Our social enterprise Starts with you also reports on their impact in their latest social value report. You can read it by clicking here: 

SWY Social Value Report [pdf] 371KB