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9 Oct 2008 : Column 822W—continued
Non-profit Making Associations
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Social Enterprise Action Plan across Government. [225024]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) continuously monitors delivery and effectiveness of the Social Enterprise Action Plan both through OTS internal channels and through a project board which has representation from across Government and the sector.
“Social Enterprise Action Plan”, an evaluation of the first year of the social enterprise action plan was published in November 2007. This report is available from the following website and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House:
OTS intends to publish a similar document highlighting progress on the implementation of the Social Enterprise Action Plan—two years on—by the end of this year.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on social enterprise. [225025]
Kevin Brennan: I intend to meet with Treasury ministerial colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues which impact on social enterprise and the third sector more generally.
The Office of the Third Sector is working closely with HM Treasury on the delivery of commitments in the Third Sector Review and Social Enterprise Action Plan; on co-operatives; and on social investment.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the community investment tax relief scheme in respect of social enterprise activities. [225026]
Kevin Brennan: No formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR) scheme has been made. The aim of the CITR scheme is to incentivise private investment from individuals and companies in financially excluded small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within or serving disadvantaged communities. £47 million has been invested in Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) through CITR.
Research by the Community Development Finance Association suggests that about half the loans (by value) made by CDFIs are to social enterprises. In practice, however, some CDFIs such as Big Issue Invest or the Social Enterprise Loan Fund only lend to social enterprises.
The recent operational review of CITR, announced in the Government’s Social Enterprise Action Plan, indicated that with most of the more active CDFIs engaged in financing only charitable or social enterprises, CITR has contributed to an improvement in the financing provision for social enterprises.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the outcome of the cross-departmental third sector public services action plan has been in respect of social enterprise. [225027]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) monitors delivery and effectiveness of the Public Services Action Plan continuously both through OTS internal channels and through a steering group which has representation from across government and the third sector (of which social enterprise is an integral part). Key outcomes so far include: a national programme of training and professional development for public sector commissioners, in which social enterprise ambassadors have been closely involved; support for innovation through the Innovation Exchange; investing in capital development through Futurebuilders; and improving the sustainability of the sector by making three-year funding the norm rather than the exception, including for social enterprises.
“Partnership in Public Services: The Public Services Action Plan”, an evaluation of the first year of the public services action plan was published in December 2007. This report is available on the OTS website:
and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. OTS intends to publish a similar document highlighting our successes on the implementation of the Public Services Action Plan by the end of this year.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what deficiencies he has identified in (a) regional, (b) sub-regional, (c) local and (d) sectoral social enterprise networks; and what steps he (i) has taken and (ii) plans to take to address such deficiencies. [225028]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector commissioned research into social enterprise networks from Rocket Science UK. The resulting “Review of Social Enterprise Networks” is on the following Cabinet Office website and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
The report identifies national, regional, sub-regional and local networks and makes recommendations on how gaps might be addressed. In response, we are investing £6 million during 2008-11, through Capacitybuilders, to develop the capacity of social enterprise infrastructure organisations.
Capacitybuilders is working with social enterprise networks in each region and other local partners to identify the best ways to meet local needs.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the £10 million social co-investment risk capital fund for social enterprise is to be used; and what Government funding sources are available for social enterprise start-ups. [225029]
Kevin Brennan:
The £10 million risk capital fund will be used to invest in social enterprises, matched by co-investors. This will demonstrate the viability of investment in social enterprises; improve access to equity
funding for new and growing social enterprises; demonstrate that there are meaningful numbers of investors interested in making commercial investment in the area of social enterprise; and develop equity funding instruments that can be used when making investments into social enterprises.
Wider government support for social enterprise start-ups includes the Department for Health's Social Enterprise Investment Fund. Other funding and finance available to social enterprises includes the Futurebuilders Fund, the Adventure Capital Fund, the forthcoming Communitybuilders fund and UnLtd—the foundation for social entrepreneurs. Each of these organisations aim to address a particular niche in the diversity of demand for finance among social enterprise.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which (a) regions and (b) council areas have the (i) highest and (ii) lowest number of registered social enterprises; and if he will make a statement. [225030]
Kevin Brennan: Social enterprises are not defined by particular legal forms. Rather, they are defined by their nature: their social/environmental aims and outcomes; the basis on which their social mission is embedded in their structure and governance; and the way they use the profits they generate through trading. Social enterprises are not, therefore, required to register with any one body. Information on the number of registered social enterprises in any particular area is consequently not available.
Shareholders
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what his latest estimate is of the number of individuals in the UK who own shares. [225371]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the latest estimate is of the number of individuals in the UK who own shares (225371).
According to a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 2006/07, 12% of people aged 16 or over in Great Britain held shares other than employee shares or share options and 5% held employee shares or share options. Applying these percentages to the mid-2006 population estimates suggests that 5.7 million people held shares other than employee shares or share options and 2.4 million people held employee shares or share options. These figures should not be added together to estimate the total number of people in Great Britain owning
shares, as some individuals may own both types of share. The estimates do not include any indirect investment in shares through for example ISAs, unit trusts or pension funds.
The proportions of individuals holding shares are based on data collected from the Household Assets Survey, which is a new longitudinal survey that collects information about the economic well being of households and individuals in Great Britain. The proportions were among statistics published in the interim report in January 2008, based on half the Wave 1 sample (16,000 households) and labelled as experimental statistics. Experimental statistics are in the testing phase arid not fully developed as they do not yet meet the rigorous quality standards of National Statistics.
Unemployment: Lincolnshire
Mr. Morley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of children in North Lincolnshire live in households where neither parent is in employment. [224948]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on what percentage of children in North Lincolnshire live in households where neither parent is in employment. (224948)
Using the Annual Population Survey (APS) household dataset for the period January to December 2007, 14.7 per cent of children in North Lincolnshire lived in a workless household, which is a household where at least one person is of working age and no adults in the household are employed.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results. This estimate is such that there is 95 per cent certainty that from all samples possible it will lie within the range 9.3 per cent to 20.2 per cent.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Public Participation
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) listening exercises and (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and who the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case. [221342]
Mr. Woodward: In 2007-08 the Northern Ireland Office held the following listening exercises and public forums:
There were no listening exercises or public forums.
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