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Minister pledges unprecedented Government support for social enterprises

12 May 2009

Businesses that provide social value, are to benefit from a wide package of new measures designed to boost social enterprises in creating new jobs, new businesses and delivering public services.

The measures have been announced by Liam Byrne, Minister for the Cabinet Office ahead of a major social enterprise summit being jointly chaired by Liam Byrne and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. The summit brings together social enterprise leaders to take forward in the UK the Prime Minister’s G20 commitment to make business more responsible. 

The Minister for the Cabinet Office set out three new ways in which Government will back social enterprises seeking to deliver public services. The new measures include: 

• A new Ministerial Working Group, chaired by Liam Byrne, Minister for the Cabinet Office, will ensure a level playing field for social enterprises and charities to compete for specific public service delivery contracts, furthering the Government’s commitment to create 25,000 new jobs in social enterprises and charities.
• A new Guide to Social Return on Investment will equip public service leaders with the tools to understand the social value that social enterprises can bring to local society, when they deliver services.
• The new FutureBuilders Investment Plan setting out how £45.6 million of public money this year will help social enterprises deliver public services, through a new fast-track investment process.

Also announced was a new year long Social Enterprise Access to Investment programme, delivered in partnership with NESTA. The programme will help social enterprises make the most of the new investment that will be available. Further announcements will follow at the Summit and on Wednesday.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne said: 

“Social enterprises put good values to good effect – fast. The sector has never been stronger thanks to our support of the last ten years. Now, 60,000 British social enterprises turnover some £27bn.

“But we want to see the sector get stronger still.

“Social enterprises are well placed not only to respond the any increasing demands for services for vulnerable people.  They also provide a blueprint for the kind of ethical and sustainable businesses that will help build a new, more balanced economy.”

The lessons from the Summit will be taken forward across Government through a new cross government social enterprise policy forum.  Government departments will be asked to bid for funds to help build evidence on how social enterprise can contribute to solving their policy priorities.

The series of new measures announced today by the Cabinet Office builds on the extensive support already in place to support the third sector and businesses. Our commitment to public service reform, and to tap into the creativity of social enterprise, is illustrated by programmes such as Futurebuilders, which provides loans and other support to third sector organisations to win public service contracts.

• Further information on the OTS's support for social enterprise