Written evidence from the Social Enterprise
Coalition
INTRODUCTION
1. The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC)
welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Business, Innovation
and Skills Committee inquiry on the New Local Enterprise Partnerships
(LEPs).
2. SEC was established in 2002 as the national
voice of social enterprise. We represent a wide range of social
enterprises, umbrella bodies and networks, with a combined membership
reaching over 10,500 social enterprises. These include co-operatives
and mutuals, development trusts, housing associations, leisure
and football supporters' trusts and Social Firms.
3. Social enterprises are businesses with primarily
social or environmental objectives whose surpluses are principally
reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community,
rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders
and owners.
4. We see a need for greater recognition
of the role that social enterprises can play in the formation
and development of LEPs and would like to ensure that they are
adequately represented. These points are elaborated upon below.
There should be greater recognition of the role
that social enterprises can play in the formation and development
of LEPs
5. We note that a letter sent from the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills on 29 June 2010 invited local
groups of councils and business leaders to consider how to form
LEPs. Given the importance being placed by Government on the role
of civil society, SEC was disappointed that the role that social
enterprises could play was omitted.
6. Whilst we understand that there is no
deliberate intention by Government to exclude social enterprises
from being involved in the design, formation and governance of
LEPs, we believe that there could be more active engagement to
encourage it.
Social enterprise should be represented alongside
mainstream business and local authorities
7. We appreciate that social enterprise
has been referenced in the Department's consultation on the Regional
Growth Fund. Rather than being subsumed as a sub-category of private
sector enterprise, however, we would suggest that social enterprise
be given separate recognition, as it represents a spectrum of
organisations that have a distinctive contribution to make.
8. We note that social enterprises and their
representative bodies were not represented at the roundtable event
to gather views on the creation of LEPs, hosted by Minister for
Regional and Local Economic Development, Mark Prisk and Minister
for Decentralisation, Greg Clark on 28 July.
9. In considering how to develop the LEPs,
SEC would like to see the social enterprise movement involved
alongside private sector business groups, local authorities and
think tanks.
10. Social enterprises can add a rich dynamic
to economic development, as they focus on achieving a wider range
of objectives than conventional businesses. They foster social
and environmental innovation, are ethical in their motivations
and are accountable to their employees, consumers and communities.
CONCLUSION
11. We believe that, in developing LEPs,
it is important to get the basic architecture and culture right
from the outset. These should avoid creating barriers for the
growing movement of social enterprises, community enterprises
and co-operatives which have so much to offer in terms of local
enterprise.
12. We would like to see Government playing
a role in ensuring representation of social enterprise in relation
to LEPs at a national level and working to encourage a consistency
of approach on a sub-national level.
13 August 2010
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