Railway firms and the government must value the wellbeing of passengers when considering feedback on planned ticket office closures.
Industry body the Rail Delivery Group has announced closed to 1,000 ticket office closures at all but the country’s busiest train stations, over the next three years.
Trade unions, charities and representative groups have all warned of unmanned stations and negative outcomes for groups such as the elderly, disabled and women.
Politically-neutral membership body Social Value UK is urging the train operating companies (TOCs) and government to heed stakeholder feedback, in line with our first principle.
To progress on such a fundamental business decision without using social value practice could be catastrophic for both the industry and country. The consultation should not be a mere formality, with a decision already taken.
Social Value UK chief executive Isabelle Parasram OBE said: “As our eight principles outline, you must listen to those likely to be impacted by a decision, understand what matters and then be responsive to the feedback you have gathered.
“Not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes business sense. Our members report first-hand experience of improved productivity, customer relations and bottom-line results when social value practice is done right.”
The Rail Delivery Group has argued only 12% of tickets are bought in-person and the government said savings must be found after a 20% fall in fare revenue since the pandemic.
But should the proposed changes lead to stakeholders being unwilling or unable to access the railway, the TOCs should be alive to the significance. As so often the case, it is an example of where both stakeholder wellbeing and financial interests align.
Privately-owned and nationally-owned TOCs run the railway network across Great Britain as part of a franchise system, subsidised by the government.
The public consultations on ticket office closures are being run by each TOC in their service area.
Responses warning of negative outcomes should be heard by both the TOCS – who stand to lose revenue – and the government, which should be supporting improved citizen wellbeing.
Some TOCs have said more platform-based roles will be created, but trade unions have warned of redundancy notices being issued.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all seen developments in recent years, with more wind farm in the pipeline.
Yet, England has largely been bereft on new wind farms since 2015 when then Prime Minister David Cameron introduced planning application reforms.
Signalling a shift in position, the UK Government recently published updated guidance on how to increase community backing for future wind farms in England and has just ended a public consultation on how to further win support for these developments by using best practice engagement.
SVUK firmly believes the Social Return on Investment Framework is the best solution to improving the likelihood wind farms win approval from local authorities, given its emphasis on engaging with those people (stakeholders) most likely to be impacted.
Our globally-recognised SROI model goes beyond just engaging with local people, but analyses the priorities of stakeholders and the relative importance they place on the changes they are likely to experience.
By using SROI Forecasts, wind farm developers could take into account residents and other key players’ concerns, adapting their plans to better account for the perceived unintended impacts of their proposals.
SVUK’s primary focus is impact on people – social value. But given our ability as a country to meet Net Zero ambitions will impact our future wellbeing and quality of life, as a national body we support in principle the development of more renewable energy hubs.
This does not mean every wind farm proposal will be appropriate, but SROI forecasting is our best opportunity to evaluate the wider impact of such a developments, beyond their proposed energy generation and environmental footprint (accounted for through existing legislation).
SVUK CEO Isabelle Parasram OBE
SVUK CEO Isabelle Parasram OBE said: “Energy companies and local residents would benefit alike from SROI forecasting, because it encourages closer engagement and collaboration. We know wind farm developers have proven in other areas of the UK they can get this right and such legislation change would only see more profitable results for both energy firms and our local communities, in the form of more successful, appropriate planning applications.”
“Greater emphasis on social value accounting would help to distinguish the developers who look to invest and enrich communities, giving them the chance to prove their commitment to improving the wellbeing of the people they impact.
“We emphasise the SROI or equivalent approach because it’s ground-up engagement style, based on our eight principles, captures unintended consequences alongside intended outcomes of a project.”
For further details email: communications@socialvalueuk.org
Below is a copy of our response to the UK Government consultation:
Positive social value practice is the answer to the government’s desire to increase the number of onshore wind farms in England, embedding the highest, most productive standard of public engagement to the planning process. The government should be looking to use SROI (Social Return on Investment) forecasts and evaluations as the gold standard for best engagement practice. Ensuring everybody can readily see the true value of a wind farm development. Social value is impact on people and there is no stronger impact on people than the ability to live on a safe, hospitable planet, which is why SVUK welcomes the move to increase renewable energy generation over fossil fuels, as part of the government’s Net Zero ambitions. To successfully reintroduce the building of wind farms to England after the 2015 planning application changes, the government recognises it must embed strong stakeholder engagement – the first of our shared principles with Social Value International (SVI). We are extremely heartened to read the Best Practice Engagement Guidance but believe it can be adjusted to ensure the best Social Value outcomes for all and positive results for the applicants. As the government states, developers should properly engage with nearby residents to create a flow of communication, articulating exactly what change will take place – SVI Principle 2. We suggest these changes should be described both from the developer’s perspective and from the point of view of different stakeholder groups – which may include the local community, wider country, potential employees, customers and service users. It is essential to understand that the same intervention might bring about different outcomes and impacts for people depending on their background, living conditions, specific needs, etc. We support the use of the varied methods for stakeholder engagement recommended in the consultation document but would like to stress the need to make the engagement as representative of local residents as possible, keeping in mind that those most likely to experience unintended negative outcomes are often those harder to engage. Such an open and inclusive approach to stakeholder engagement would reveal why some people have reservations about onshore wind developments in their local area and go some way to resolving the issues blocking their development. To optimise wind farm projects and planning consultations, the social value measurement should not be limited to outputs (power produced, etc), but outcomes and thus must also account for negative impacts – intended or otherwise. But this works both ways, there will also be unintended positive outcomes. This is key if we are to avoid issues of tick boxing – the social value world’s equivalent of greenwashing – and to ensure a ground swell of support for these developments. Developers should recognise what holds value for the stakeholders. This could be done by either establishing the relative importance of outcomes for different stakeholder groups through an appropriate system of weighting/ranking, or through financial proxies. The latter translates stakeholder value into monetary units and can make it comparable with the cost of construction and/or benefits for the residents and other stakeholder groups. Developers should seek to be transparent, i.e. demonstrate the basis on which their analysis may be considered accurate and honest, and take steps to report and discuss it with stakeholders – Principle 6. This chimes with the government’s guidance on page 15 of Community Engagement and Benefits from Onshore Wind Developments Good Practice Guidance for England: “The engagement plan needs to be flexible and remain responsive. Adapting the plan to provide bespoke information about local concerns is important”. Further, as outlined in SVI Principle 7, all developers should verify their results using an assurance service, such as the Report Assurance service provided by not-for-profit outfit Social Value UK
Finally, stakeholder consultations alone are not enough – developers should be responsive to the feedback they receive and use it to inform their decisions in line with Principle 8. This enhances the government’s guidance and could be key to achieving successful planning approval for later wind farm applications by the developer. Renewable energy firms, through their environmental impact statements, have become accustomed to working around wildlife and fauna challenges. This curtesy should be extended to local communities. We recognise many firms improve road infrastructure and in more rural settings, communications, but the true impact on stakeholders must be assessed from their point of view, not the developer or shareholder. Although this creates a powerful list of requirements for energy developers to adhere to, we believe it will result in more positive outcomes for all and are aware of existing industry examples of social value practice success. Planning applications are less likely to be met with objections if stakeholders feel listened to and firms take informed decisions. A critical issue for renewable energy developers is a shortage of skills and this too can be overcome with proper stakeholder engagement and support, creating a sustainable workforce for maintenance and further projects. We believe Social Return on Investment (SROI) forecasting and evaluation is how developers should meet the engagement requirements being put forward by the government. Minimum requirements must include education and skills, health, financial independence, wellbeing, job quality and adequate feeling of engagement. Social Value UK would be happy to work with the government to collaborate on an appropriate framework or adapted SROI model, should it be needed, and to offer verification and validation to ensure reports are robust. As a not-for-profit organisation connected to global standard-setter Social Value International, Social Value UK is in an ideal position to accurately adjudicate on SROI forecasts and evaluations prepared for wind farm developments. By using the SROI framework, the government could be assured of a level playing field and greater chance for equal replication of standards across England, regardless of the local authority involved.
Social Value UK is looking to build on its How Do Companies Act (HDCA) project by collaborating with the Better Business Act Campaign.
Co-chief executive Isabelle Parasram said: “We have alignment on the BBA Campaign’s objective to see changes reflected in an amended Section 172 of the Companies Act.”
The Better Business Act Campaign, which commands the support of more than 1,900 organisations, demands a change to the law to ensure all businesses are legally responsible for “benefiting workers, customers, communities and the environment while delivering profit.”
The BBA Campaign stated: “The failure to align the interests of shareholders with those of wider society and the environment has contributed to a set of enormous challenges that threaten peoples’ health, wealth and the natural world.”
Social Value UK shares a similar vision, wanting organisations to put social and environmental impacts at the fore of business decisions, through better governance, accounting and reporting.
The BBA Campaign wants to see changes to the law that would:
Put responsibility on directors to make decisions that give regard to long-term outcomes, employees, suppliers, and impacts to the community and environment.
Make the purpose of a company to benefit its members, while operating in a manner that also benefits wider society and the environment. Companies should look to reduce the harm they create or the costs they impose on wider society and the environment, with the goal of eliminating any such harm or costs.
Require a strategic report each financial year that outlines how directors will fulfil the above objectives.
It is the latter change Social Value UK believes it can contribute most to.
The HDCA project was established in 2019 to push for changes to the Companies Act that would see businesses take stock of social and environmental impacts in financial accounting.
SVUK has therefore identified collaboration with the BBA Group as a sensible way forward to promote its intended outcomes.
SVUK Co-CEO Isabelle Parasram recently met with Chris Turner, executive director of B Lab UK (which is acting as the BBA Group secretariat) to discuss the shared ambitions and will be continuing dialogue in early Summer.
“I’ll be meeting with our SVUK members in the coming weeks to find out what they think and how they’d like to get involved whilst, at the same time, fleshing out with the BBA Campaign how we can be involved on a practical level.”
