Council and suppliers make the Swindon pound go even further
New electronic tablets, which will benefit adults with learning difficulties, have been presented to Swindon Borough Council as part of its growing commitment to social value.
Published: Friday, 24th October 2025
The devices form part of a successful tender by social housing contractor Pilon, which is carrying out bathroom refurbishments across the Council’s housing stock.
They will now be used by Enterprise Works, an organisation owned by the Council which provides work opportunities for adults with learning difficulties. A number of the tablets will also be used by the Council’s Skills and Employment team to support people who are looking to get into work.
As part of the Council’s mission to ‘Build a Better Swindon’, the Council is applying proportionate social value criteria in its procurement processes, evaluating tenders against how they will also improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Swindon area.
Although the Council must ensure social value through procurement, this must still be balanced with the requirement for local contractors to show that they can credibly compete on price, performance and quality to be awarded a public contract.
Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “I am really passionate about social value and community wealth building as it can make a real difference to local areas.
“Asking firms who win those competitive contracts to provide additional social value benefits is absolutely the right thing to do and the tablets that are going to be used by Enterprise Works and our Skills and Employment team will make a real difference to the people they support.
“There are a number of other social value projects in the pipeline which will bring positive benefits to local communities in Swindon, which is fantastic news for the town.”