By The North East Social Enterprise Partnership on 21 Apr 2010
Social enterprise and the 2010 General Election
As the 2010 General Election fast approaches, much focus within the third sector is centred on what effect the results of the election will have on social enterprise, and what each main party asserts they will do for social enterprises should they be successful.
While the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties each recognise the value of social enterprise, especially in light of the recent recession, there exist some differences in their approaches to supporting social enterprise, with reference to funding and finance and the delivery of public sector contracts. Here, we highlight some of the issues pertinent to social enterprises in each of the three main parties’ manifestoes.
Labour pledges to:
Provide more support for third sector organizations when bidding for public sector contracts and advance the right of public sector workers to request that frontline services be delivered through social enterprises
Encourage the creation of a ‘social enterprise hub’ in every community
Provide support for community organizations, co-operatives and social enterprises to supply energy services
Encourage communities to invest in football clubs, pubs, renewable energy and shops through the use of community shares
Maintain the Future Jobs Fund which will support the creation of 200,000 jobs
Commit to the development of a Social Investment Bank for social enterprises to access capital and initiate ‘Social Impact Bonds’, promoting private investors to support social entrepreneurs and the third sector overall
Follow the link to view the Labour Party Manifesto in full.
Conservative promises to:
Work towards delivering 25% of government research and procurement contracts through SME’s by reducing the administrative costs of bidding
Encourage local authorities to work with social enterprises, charities and the voluntary sector in the delivery of public services
Support social enterprises with start-up capital needed to bid for public sector contracts
Provide further support for social enterprises by the creation of a ‘Big Society Bank’, funded by dormant accounts, to provide capital for community groups, charities, social enterprises and intermediary bodies that support social enterprises
Create a ‘Green Investment Bank’ through existing government funds and private sector funding to provide capital for green technology start-ups
Provide support for potential entrepreneurs through the creation of a new ‘Work for Yourself’ programme which aims to provide unemployed people with access to business advice and loans
Follow the link to view the Conservative Party Manifesto in full.
Liberal Democrats pledge to:
Introduce a new Mutuals, Co-operatives and Social Enterprises Bill that will both bring the law up to date and give responsibility to a specific minister
Provide Local Health Boards with the power to commission services for local communities from a range of providers, ensuring fairness in tendering
Promote community-owned renewable energy models
Amend Gift Tax to work at a higher rate of 23% which will give charities more money, while prohibiting a loophole for higher rate tax payers
Establish a ‘Creative Enterprise Fund’ which will provide training, mentoring and small grants and loans for start-ups
Back the creation of ‘Local Enterprise Funds’ to enable local investors to finance businesses in their communities
Follow the link to view the Liberal Democrat Manifesto in full.
With all three main parties manifestoes including plans to foster an environment in which social enterprise can prosper, and with each party pledging their support for social enterprise via the Social Enterprise Coalition’s Social Enterprise Charter, who will get your vote this May?
Read more about the impact the election could have on social enterprise at the Social Enterprise Coalition website.
