McSence
McSence was set up during a period of acute levels of unemployment in the wake of the pit closures and loss of other employment within the Mayfield and Easthouses area in Midlothian, Scotland. The effects on the local community, its economy and local businesses, were devastating. Local miners were looking for a way to revitalise the community and create jobs.
The original idea was to collect £5 per week for one year from local businesses. This grew to a massive £7,000. In 1989 a steering group was formed to research markets for investment. The group consisted of business people, workers and the unemployed, and formed the first board of directors, all of whom are still unpaid volunteers and, to this day, have never claimed expenses.
In 1991, the first company, McSence Heatwise, which specialises in central heating installation, cavity wall/loft insultation and energy efficiency, was registered. A second company, McSence Limited, was formed as a result of Heatwise's profits, which incurred corporation tax. McSence Ltd holds charitable status, and was able to claim back all taxes paid. It is a registered charity in Scotland and a company limited by guarantee, and holds all McSence company profits.
Since the inception of McSence Ltd, several other companies have been created. McSence Services Ltd provides jobs in the service industry and thus creates employment and new skills for local people who are either unemployed or low skilled. McSence Workspace Ltd was registered after the purchase of a derelict building, which was converted into 14 workspace units. European funding of £400,000 was matched with £100,000 of private donations, £73,000 Midlothian Council funds and McSence profits of £427,000. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust donated £70,000 to help with internal set-up costs. McSence Workspace have recently completed the construction of the Midlothian Social Enterprise Centre which provides 4 workshop and 7 office units for new businesses. This £2.3 million project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund, ERDF and McSence.
McSence Communication was established in 2005 and provides contact centre, training and conferencing services. Its main purpose is to increase the employability skills of people who are marginalized within society and may experience difficulty in accessing mainstream employment.
Finally, there is A&R Hepburn Engineering Ltd, a long-established family business in which McSence recently acquired a majority shareholding. A&R Hepburn provide central heating installation, servicing and repair services and compliments the work of McSence Heatwise.
The enterprise has won numerous awards, including The New Statesman Award for Social Enterprise of the Year 2002. It was also awarded the Queens Golden Jubilee Award for Services to the Community and was a winner at the Enterprising Solutions Awards for Best Social Enterprise in 2007.
As far as structure is concerned, all companies are answerable to a board of directors, consisting of local people. Board members are trained to understand the legal duties and responsibilities of directorship. A chief executive heads up all companies, and each company has its own respective manager, plus administrative, technical and vocational staff. The board meets on a monthly basis, and all managers must submit a report on their achievements, and their intentions for sustainability for the future. On an annual basis, each manager must also submit a business plan for the forthcoming year.
Turnover for McSence Group is in excess of £8 million and annual profits are up to £250,000. McSence receives no subsidies for ongoing running costs. The performance of the companies has created a stable platform for growth, and its continued success is proof of its sustainability. The profits created from these businesses has enabled the Mayfield & Easthouses Grants Association, established by McSence, to make donations to various needy organisations requesting help, thus achieving the original concept, which was to set up and run a business for the community and to regenerate the community for the benefit of all our residents.
"It's been a great success, but part of creating jobs locally has always been about choosing the right business," says one of the founding directors, Brian Tannerhill. "We've always said that if any of our companies failed to perform we would immediately close it down, and we have on a few occasions. We won't subsidise it through the other companies."
Alasdair Mathers, Regeneration and Social Policy Manager for Midlothian Council, acknowledges McSence's diverse approach to getting local people back to work.
"Unemployment in Midlothian is now about 2%," he says. "But for every one person unemployed, it's estimated there are another four currently unable to work. These are discriminated parties - from physically disabled people on the one side of the spectrum to drug-addicted ex-offenders on the other.
"So unemployment is no longer the huge issue it was here. Instead it's now low wages, disadvantaged groups and the 57% of Midlothians who currently commute to Edinburgh for work. What McSence is doing is working with specific client groups to create good jobs locally."
Mr Tannerhill adds: "McSence is a success story we are very proud of having achieved. We will continue to tell our story to help motivate other community groups to emulate this success. There can be a future after pit closures and we are here to help others see that."