EARLIER this month, a dozen of David Cameron’s shadow ministers boarded a Hackney Community Transport double-decker bus and took a tour of social enterprises across the capital. The new leader of the Conservative Party joined his team at Coin Street on London’s South Bank and told a gathering of social enterprise leaders: “Social enterprises are not just creating social good, but creating jobs and opportunity. Our shared objective must be to help social enterprises grow and prosper.”
Tomorrow, Tony Blair will address more than 800 delegates at Voice 06, the Social Enterprise Coalition’s national conference, via video message. He will reaffirm Labour’s manifesto commitment to the sector and call for it to play a greater role in the delivery of public services like healthcare and recycling; and in regenerating communities and neighbourhoods across the UK.
As chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC), the national body for social enterprise, I’m obviously delighted that the political parties are competing to be the sector’s most enthusiastic supporter.
However, while supportive words are welcome, what our members are really concerned about are concrete actions that will make a real difference to their businesses on the ground.
It’s not about asking the Government for handouts. But it is about recognising that social enterprises have some particular needs — whether that’s certain kinds of finance, issues to do with their legal and organisational structure or access to appropriate business support.
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In health, the forthcoming White Paper on community health and care is likely to send strong signals that the Government wants a more diverse range of providers in the NHS. But as it stands at the moment, the private sector is in a far better position to capitalise on the opportunities.
There is a clear case for government intervention to ensure that social enterprises are able to compete, for example putting appropriate finance and support in place and addressing barriers in the commissioning process. Similarly, there is a role for the Government in supporting social enterprises in their work to regenerate communities across the UK.
Core to the approach of many of these businesses is community ownership of buildings and land. The Government could introduce a “community right to buy” modelled on the Scottish law, or allocate greater investment through vehicles like the Adventure Capital Fund that enable social enterprises to develop their asset base.
And there is a role for politicians of all parties in local government who could take greater advantage of new rules, making it easier to transfer land into the hands of the community.
At a wider level, there are thousands of social enterprises operating across an incredibly diverse range of industries and sectors, from fair trade and farmer’s markets to recycling and railways.
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SEC’s ambition is that ten years from now, social enterprises will play a mainstream role in every area of the economy. There is work for the social enterprise sector to do, but politicians must play their part too. The challenge is for them to move beyond warm words and do the hard part — turning the rhetoric into a reality.
Jonathan Bland is the chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition