Lancashire County Council

We offered a social value proposal as part of our mobile contract with Lancashire County Council, with measurable benefits for those in the community who are most in need.

Lancashire County Council wanted to provide additional support for its residents and have a positive environmental impact, beyond the standard telecoms provision.

While delivering our mobile contract with Lancashire County Council, we were able to offer a package of measures to promote social value in the local community, benefiting those most in need, which in turn brings measurable benefits to the council in terms of engagement and trust.

Providing social value solutions that helped address the digital divide was a key requirement for the council. As such, we were able to leverage our charitable partnerships to deliver localised support.

We partnered with leading digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation, to create the National Databank community. Organisations can register to join the National Databank to provide free mobile data, texts and calls to those who may overwise struggle to stay connected.

Through this partnership, Lancashire County Council’s 66 libraries are now all part of the National Databank scheme. In one year alone, the council’s library services distributed more than 1,200 free SIM cards to local residents at risk of data poverty.

To support the development of local skills, our Social Value team worked closely with the Lancashire Levy Network to identify local businesses wishing to upskill their workforce through apprenticeship qualifications. As part of our commitments, we’ve donated £20,000 to fund four new health and social care apprenticeships in partnership with a Preston-based organisation who provide care services for domiciliary, mental health and learning disabilities care.