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Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and CompetitivenessThe Social Enterprise London Seminar |
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| (Left DTI 29/5/02) | |
Good afternoon. I'd like to begin by thanking Social Enterprise London for inviting me to participate in today's seminar. I'm delighted to be here and would like to congratulate them for organising such a successful event. It strikes me that events such as these, that bring together those interested in the great contribution that social enterprise has to make, to the economy, and more widely, offer a key opportunity for dynamic communities of interest to be built up and strengthened. This government recognises and applauds the tremendous work that is being carried out by Social Enterprise London in this respect – indeed I must pay tribute to the sheer number and variety of partner organisations with which SEL works, including local authorities, the SBS, think tanks, central government, international banks, and multinational corporates. I feel quite strongly that with the support and partnership of people like you we can really make sure that social enterprises fulfil their potential and play a major role in delivering public services, increasing productivity and creating wealth and opportunity for people in disadvantaged communities. Last month Patricia Hewitt spoke at an event launching Social Enterprise East Midlands that has been set up with the help of East Midlands Development Agency. I know that she welcomes, as do I, the contribution that SEEM is going to make in pushing forward the social enterprise agenda in the East Midlands. We warmly welcome the initiatives taken by SEL and SEEM that have developed locally and regionally to answer some of the needs of the social enterprise sector. We would hope to see this leadership, heavily influenced from 'the bottom up' to be followed elsewhere in the country. Although I am confident that no-one here needs to be convinced of why we think that social enterprise is 'a good thing', I think it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves of why the Social Enterprise Unit has been established and why it is situated in the DTI. The SEU defines social enterprise as business with primarily social objectives whose surplus are reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community (rather than being driven by the need to deliver profit to shareholders). We believe there is no single model, but that social enterprises can include some co-operatives, mutuals, employee owned businesses and private companies limited by guarantee provided they pursue a social objective. Even from what I have already said it is apparent that this government believes that social enterprises have a major role to play in encouraging local enterprise and productivity and in providing effective and innovative services to the local community. We believe that the SEU should be in the DTI because successful social enterprises are, at heart, successful businesses. It is interesting to note that of the 100 companies listed on the Inner City 100 index of the fastest growing enterprises in disadvantaged areas; about 10% were social enterprises. Like 'mainstream' businesses, successful social enterprises have to meet the financial bottom line, and in doing this bring opportunities of wealth creation, regeneration and employment to the areas in which they operate. But social enterprises go a step further; through their social objectives they aim to achieve a double bottom line, financial and social. Some even strive to meet triple bottom line as well – environmental. Furthermore, social enterprises, because of their nature are often to be found in communities where mainstream methods of providing goods and services have broken down – their innovative approaches can not only provide these services but also help to create new and sustainable markets in trading environments that are perhaps too risky for mainstream business. Social enterprises allow the entrepreneurial spirit to be unleashed and allow communities to begin to help themselves. They have a great role to play in driving forward competitiveness, productivity and innovation in the UK – principles that are at the very heart of the DTI's own objectives. But Social Enterprises do much more. They are to be found in the childcare sector: Peter Flukes of Wolseley Community Economic Development Trust may well be familiar with the Get Up & Go Community Nursery in Plymouth. Operating in an area with a high level of unemployment and the concomitant social problems that this brings, Get Up & Go provides childcare for children from 2-5, but also a positive focus for parents and children and the wider community. Through its encouragement of community involvement, particularly from parents who have found that voluntary work in the nursery may be a first step on the road back to employment, it has helped to build confidence and esteem in the local community. This kind of business, which not only delivers a service to the community, but also goes further and adds social value, not easily measurable in financial terms, is the very kind of business that we are so anxious to see develop and grow. So what is the Social Enterprise Unit doing to try and allow social enterprise to achieve its full potential? As many of you already know the Unit is relatively new (it was launched on the 9th October last year) and relatively small, although it is growing quickly. I know it has been overwhelmed, as have I, by the sheer enthusiasm and drive of those it has met from the social enterprise sector. Following the seminar of 9th October it has attempted to harness some of this enthusiasm through the 8 Working Groups that were set up and in which I know some of you are playing an active part. These Groups are looking at Legal and Regulatory Issues, Business Support and Training, Finance and Funding, Learning from Experience, Promotion, Impact Measures, Research and Mapping and Procurement. They are set to report at the end of this month and the findings will form the basis of a strategy which we will discuss at a seminar towards the end of March. These groups have been working hard to pull together various aspects of the social enterprise agenda and have already given us strong indications of some of the areas in which we could most usefully, and effectively, focus our energies and resources. In addition, the Unit is involved with other reviews going on across Whitehall which are relevant to the social enterprise community. Firstly there is the Performance and Innovation Unit that has been looking at legal and regulatory frameworks in the voluntary sector. In addition the Treasury is conducting a cross-cutting review which is focused on the role of the voluntary sector in the delivery of public services. Both these reviews have expanded their original remit to include social enterprise in recognition of the importance of the potential role they have to play. Through its involvement in the process of these reviews the Unit is ensuring that social enterprise, its characteristics and opportunities is fully taken account of in policy making across Whitehall. One of the things that has become clear to the Unit through its work in the past few months is the key role that local authorities have to play in the development of social enterprises and it gives me great pleasure to see so many representatives of London boroughs here today. I know that Gavin [Moore] will be speaking about from a London perspective about social enterprises and local authorities and I do feel that excellent foundations are being laid here in London to ensure that an explicit social enterprise strategy is included in individual boroughs' economic and community development strategies. I don't think that it is overstating the case to say that support and understanding from local authorities can mean the difference between social enterprises succeeding and prospering, or going under. While there are many local authorities that have strong links with social enterprise, there are many others where this connection just doesn't exist. For social enterprises to be able to operate in an environment in which they can truly flourish and become sustainable it is key that local and regional players are fully engaged and understand the social and economic benefits that the whole range of social enterprises can bring to communities. I cannot overemphasise the role that local and regional government and partners have to play in the development of social enterprise. What is clear from today's event is the real driving force that SEL represents in terms of pushing forward the social enterprise agenda here in London. However, we have to recognise that not all regions are as fortunate as London in this respect. We feel that working with strong regional partners such as SEL is absolutely vital to the success of social enterprises now and in the future. That is why I am particularly pleased to be able to announce today a £95,000 pilot co-sponsored by the SEU and OneNorthEast, the local RDA, to be run by the Barclays Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Durham Business School. This programme will provide business advice to 40 social enterprises with the skills and capacity required to achieve sustainable growth, act entrepreneurially, achieve enhanced productivity and thus improve their competitiveness. The ultimate aim of this programme is to develop the capacity of social enterprises to increase the proportion of revenue derived from trading activity and to reduce the dependency on 'funding' and the culture on which it rests. The pilot will include an area where there has been an historic reliance on a single employer, an area in which, following the removal of this source of employment, people are having to think about finding new ways of working. The programme will aim to re-awaken the entrepreneurial spirit amongst former Corus employees who will be given priority places on this course provided they are already involved with an organisation seeking to develop as a social enterprise." It also complements the ambition of OneNorthEast to build an enterprise culture in the North East of England. It will include social enterprises from rural and urban areas and from a range of sectors to maximise the lessons that we can learn from the pilot programme. The pilot will bring together a network of commercial and social entrepreneurs and provide local Business Links with the opportunity to build their own capacity to support the social enterprise sector. Whilst the 40 social enterprises selected to participate in this pilot programme will undoubtedly benefit from the experience, the ultimate aim is to develop a programme that will be transferable to social enterprises across Britain and to build the links between these SMEs, local universities and Business Links to provide lasting networks that help to develop the social economy as a trading economy. I wanted to end by thanking SEL for organising today's event and bringing together so many people who can make a difference to the success of social enterprises throughout London. It is my hope that through working together we can release the great potential that social enterprise has to make a genuine difference to the creation of wealth, promotion of productivity and competitiveness, and improving the quality of life for so many people Thank you. |
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Other speeches by Douglas Alexander MP - Former Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness
(the following are available from the archive) |
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