A new manifesto for social enterprise was launched in March with a view to gaining cross-party support going into the election. The Social Enterprise Coalition’s There’s more to Business looks at how social enterprise contributes to the housing, business and public sectors. The manifesto highlights some of the most successful social enterprises, including CaféDirect, Greenwich Leisure and Chesterfield FC Supporters’ Trust – all three of which are businesses with primarily social objectives, whose surpluses are reinvested back into the community.
“Social enterprises are making a real difference in every part of the country,” said Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition. “In this election year the Social Enterprise Coalition calls on all political parties to support this powerful business model so that more and more people and communities can reap the social, environmental and economic benefits”.
All three main parties have backed the manifesto. Liam Fox MP, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, visiting London’s Curzon Cinema, a social enterprise and the oldest continually operating cinema in the world, said: “Social enterprise is an important model to add into the mix of business…it can not only fill a gap in the market, it can help create a market that wasn’t there before and clearly it’s a model we want to encourage”. Contact Ros Boyle, Social Enterprise Coalition 020 7968 4925 ( http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk)
REGULATING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
John Hanlon, previously head of Energywatch Scotland, took up his post April 1 as regulator of community interest companies, legally defined as companies designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. Hanlon’s role will be as an independent ‘light-touch regulator’, encouraging the development of CICs and providing guidance and assistance on matters relating to the sector, the Department of Trade & Industry said. “The role is an important one – securing confidence in this exciting new legal form and raising awareness of what it has to offer across the social enterprise sector and more widely,” said Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition. The role and remit of the CIC regulator is explained in a short booklet published by the DTI. Contact DTI 020 7215 5000 ( http://www.dti.gov.uk)
UPSTARTS AWARDS
The fourth Upstarts Awards, held at the County Hall Gallery on London’s South Bank on March 2, showcased a diverse range of social enterprises and entrepreneurs. More than 300 nominations were received for the awards, organised by weekly left-of-centre newspaper New Statesman and sponsored by The Co-operative Bank, to reward combinations of good business practice and social responsibility. The awards were attended by Nigel Griffiths MP, minister at the Department of Trade and Industry responsible for construction, enterprise and small business, who said that ceremonies like Upstarts show that UK social enterprises are involved in a diverse range of activities: “They extend from the richest countries in the world to the poorest and transform the lives of people on every continent”. The Social Enterprise award went to the 12 year-old Leicestershire-based co-operative Shepshed Carers, provider of domiciliary care to more than 250 people. Meanwhile, the social entrepreneur award went to Nick Baxter of Cornerstone Community Care, one of the largest charities in Scotland working to change attitudes to people with learning difficulties. Awards were made in six categories.
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