Thought Leadership

On 7 August, Chris Sylvester, a recovering heroin addict, is going to sit in a bathtub in Leeds City Square for up to 3 days. He's doing it because he knows what it feels like to be trapped by addiction. He's doing it to try to raise £50k to help other people get clean. Two out of three employers say they wouldn’t employ a former crack or heroin addict. Unemployment is a clear driver of relapse. Getting Clean aims to smash the stigma around addiction and demonstrate that addicts can be some of the most productive members of society by employing recovering addicts to make and sell natural soap. It pledges to donate 50% of company profits to supporting people in recovery. It's mission is “to ensure that all addicts in the UK have access to peer support and employment opportunities”. Chris is the Founder of Getting Clean. After being introduced to heroin at the age of 12, Chris spent 20+ years in active addiction, meaning cycles of crime, prisons, hospitals and homelessness. At the age of 35 he found recovery. As soon as he got clean, he knew that he needed to help other people get clean too. After a few years in support work and running a community project, he realised the best way to help people get clean would be with soap. The event’s goal is to sell £50,000 of soap, which enables a £20,000 donation directly to a lived-experience recovery project led by Forward Leeds. Beyond the event, Getting Clean’s model channels support to people in recovery through both employment and its 50%-of-profits pledge. To find out more about the event, the life changing work carried out by Getting Clean, and how you can contribute through buying some soap visit gettingclean.co.uk/pages/tubtrap

Today's government announcement that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, set out in new Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 026, is another important step in Social Enterprise UK’s work to ensure public spending strengthens communities. We're especially pleased to see Andy Burnham's government putting social value at the heart of its agenda so early in his premiership.   Raising the minimum weighting for local social and economic benefit to 20% on contracts worth £5 million or more builds directly on the Public Services (Social Value) Act we proposed, helped pass in 2012, and have continued to champion and evolve since (and similarly with the Procurement Act that followed). We also welcome the stronger KPI reporting, including the new provision that poor performance against social value commitments can count against suppliers bidding for future contracts. For too long, social value has been a box to tick rather than a promise to keep, and government is right to say so. What’s changed?  Some of what’s been announced isn’t new. Procurement Policy Note 026 effectively supersedes PPN 002, which already covered fair work, skills for growth, employment for people facing barriers, and pipelines of opportunity for under-represented groups. What's genuinely new is narrower: jobs and skills are now the only route to meeting the weighting, whereas before, authorities could previously use climate, wellbeing or supply-chain outcomes instead. The weighting rises meaningfully at the top end; and the threshold rises to £1 million.   That £1 million threshold is our first concern. Raising it is framed as cutting red tape for small businesses, and easier routes for social enterprises bidding directly are welcome. But it also means social value requirements simply stop applying below that level - a tier where many social enterprises compete. A rule meant to open the door for small suppliers shouldn't quietly remove the lever that makes buyers choose them. It raises the prospect of a situation where a profit maximising private sector company with a large bid team outscores a social enterprise which focuses on job creation. We'd like a more proportionate approach below £1 million, rather than a blanket exemption.  It's also worth the government remembering who already delivers exactly these priorities. Our latest State of Social Enterprise research shows social enterprises employ an average of 72 people each across the UK's more than 100,000 social enterprises, with 43% specifically employing people from disadvantaged groups and 83% paying the Real Living Wage. Creating good jobs and routes into work for young people and those facing barriers isn't a new ask for social enterprises, it's what many were set up to do, and they should be direct beneficiaries of the new weighting, not just intermediaries helping larger contractors hit their targets.  Resilient supply chains  We’re also concerned about the loss of direction for commissioners that was in PPN 002: "Increase supply chain resilience". That rewarded suppliers for a diverse supply chain, including SMEs, VCSEs and mutuals: the closest thing the current model has to incentivising large contractors to buy from social enterprises.  PPN 026's Annex A contains only two outcomes, Good Jobs and Skills, and neither scores supply chain composition. The only remaining mention of VCSEs is a note about ensuring the criteria chosen are ones VCSEs can bid against, which gives accessibility for bidders, but doesn’t reward the larger organisations buying from them.  We know the alternative works. Amey, quoted in today's announcement, is a partner in our Buy Social Corporate Challenge, through which major businesses commit to spending on social enterprises rather than simply hiring directly. Amey's reported social value rose from £211 million to £248 million last year, plausibly reflecting the very outcome PPN 026 has now dropped.   If that route disappears, government risks removing the lever pulling large contractors towards social enterprises even as it raises the overall score; a contractor could hit the full 20% weighting through direct hiring alone, with no obligation to touch its supply chain. With this government’s focus on jobs, it’s pertinent that nearly 8,000 jobs have been created by corporates procuring from social enterprises through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge. That's our central ask for the autumn technical guidance: reinstate supply chain diversity, including VCSE participation, as a scored outcome, whether standalone or built into the Skills and Good Jobs criteria. We'd also like sub-contracting transparency, so buyers can see where social value spend actually lands, and independent verification of KPIs rather than self-reporting.  The opportunity ahead Public procurement is worth £90 billion a year. Getting this right could mean billions more reaching the organisations best placed to create good jobs and close skills gaps. Getting it wrong means large contractors meet the new weighting through direct hiring alone, while the route pulling spend towards social enterprises quietly closes.   We appreciate the new willingness of this government to engage with SEUK, which has led to meaningful dialogue with the Cabinet Office and No.10. We've spent over a decade proving what works, and we'd welcome the chance to bring that evidence into the guidance process before the rules take effect in January 2027. 5 August 2026

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) won the International Impact Award at the 2025 UK Social Enterprise Awards for work that includes geolocating war crimes in Palestine, Sudan and Myanmar. As tickets go on sale for this year's Awards, we look at how CIR co-founder Adam Rutland built a team of open-source investigators who turn phone footage and satellite images into courtroom-ready evidence. "There are a lot of bad people doing a lot of bad things around the world. Our mission is to say one thing to them: we're watching you." Not many award acceptance speeches sound like a defiant warning. Adam Rutland's, accepting the International Impact Award at the 2025 UK Social Enterprise Awards, was made all the more memorable because of it. The co-founder's speech was certainly different, something that could also be said of his organisation. Visit CIR's website, and you'll find reports of wrongdoing by what it calls ‘malign actors’. At the time of writing, this included investigations into whether Israeli displacement orders were sending Gazans to genuinely safe zones, how access to water (a basic human right) was being used as a weapon in Syria, and how far-right groups are spreading misinformation about London. Tracking a massacre from a phone video One case shows just how fascinating and painstaking that work is. CIR found a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) camp in Libya. The RSF is one of two factions fighting Sudan's civil war, which has raged since April 2023. CIR was able to prove that fighters from the camp were involved in an attack on the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur in Sudan; once home to 500,000 internally displaced people, it is now an RSF military base. A massacre took place there, and most of that number were forced to flee again. CIR traced the camp by studying phone footage RSF fighters had posted online and cross-referencing satellite images showing light sources from desert encampments at night. Investigators then built 3D models of vehicles from the footage, identifying them by markings such as words written in the dust on windscreens and existing damage. Famine took hold in Darfur as food supplies dried up, but the supply of military equipment to the RSF hadn't, and CIR traced where some of it was coming from. Much of CIR's work uses this kind of technology. Many of their published investigations include interactive maps, with dots marking specific incidents; click on one and you might find phone footage that's been verified through geolocation. "Our ability to harness technology, and the methodology that some of us learnt in government — and some of us learnt outside of government — has allowed us for the first time to really move from simply collecting information to collecting evidence that can be used for an impact on the ground," says Rutland. As well as raising public awareness of harms around the world, that evidence is used in national and international courts to prosecute war crimes and other abuses, helping deliver justice for victims, he explains. From diplomacy to digital investigation Rutland was drawn to this work after 15 years as a Foreign Office diplomat, posted to a variety of countries. "In all of those places there were obviously harms, sometimes by authoritarian regimes and sometimes by online actors. And when I came back to the UK, I was determined to do something about it," he says. Geographically at least, he's still close to government: CIR's office is housed in a 19th-century building near Whitehall. Centre for Information Resilience launched in 2020 and now employs 65 people, with a further 200 investigators and analysts working across 42 countries. Rutland describes CIR as a high-end research organisation. "We like to find really difficult, hard-to-find information and package it up for news organisations, for governments, for NGOs, primarily to help the fight against human rights abuses and online harm," he says, explaining the organisation's revenue model and who its clients are. Casting our lot Rutland admits the work CIR does is "quite dark sometimes", which is partly what led the organisation to enter last year's UK Social Enterprise Awards. "I thought it was a good idea for us to maybe just lift our head up a little bit, look at the other social enterprise organisations doing good in the world, and just cast our lot to see if people thought what we were doing was worthwhile." Rutland describes the win as "fantastic," and a tribute to the hundreds of people behind CIR's work. His acceptance speech wasn't planned. "I wanted people to know that they can't commit crimes in the dark, that there is a light shining on what they're doing. And ultimately, somewhere, at some time, justice will be served." info-res.org

By Jovan Owusu-Nepaul - Head of Public Affairs at Social Enterprise UK Today (Monday 20 June) Andy Burnham entered Downing Street. With an already warm slogan shaping his world view, 'good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart', he marries together heart and head in hopes of re-casting the direction of British politics. In it, forging a new path for how we arrange our social and economic life. Despite the fact that he will inherit an economy still on a quest for growth and increasingly squeezed by a ballooning welfare state, Burnham sets to inherit greater economic stability, and one where interest rates have climbed down to more manageable levels. Albeit not the 2.5% BoE target. However, all of this is completely irrelevant if communities still feel far too disconnected from economic prosperity. After six previous Prime Ministers, Burnham's government will rightly be judged on whether it can deliver growth that reaches every part of the country. This isn't just growth in GDP, but growth in opportunity and wellbeing in a more resilient economy. Social enterprises are ready to deliver on this mission. In Britain today, there are around 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, with a collective turnover of £60 billion and employing around 2.3 million people. They provide childcare, health and social care, housing, education, culture, environmental services and reignite the high street with purpose. Unlike conventional businesses, their profits are reinvested into the communities they serve. Andy Burnham has long recognised the value of business with purpose. As Mayor of Greater Manchester, he championed the role of social value in procurement and demonstrated how economic development can be aligned with community benefit. His commitment to ensuring public contracts properly account for social value is an important foundation. But there is an opportunity now to build. If a Burnham government wants to build an economy that works for everyone, social enterprise must be at the heart of this economic and reindustrial strategy. This includes as part of government's public service reform and devolution agenda. Here are five actions that could be taken within the first 100 days. 1. Give social enterprise a seat at the table Establishing the Office for the Impact Economy was a great step for social enterprises but they have too often fallen between government departments, considered as neither wholly business nor wholly civil society. That must change. Government needs to formally recognise social enterprise as part of the UK's business economy, with ministerial responsibility sitting within the Department for Business and Trade, working in tandem with social enterprises on the ground and experts who work collaboratively with the Office for the Impact Economy. 2. Launch a cross-government social enterprise strategy The contribution social enterprises make to economic growth is outsized. Consider employment, health, housing, education, net zero and local regeneration, to name a few.  Yet policy affecting the sector remains fragmented. Within its first 100 days, government should commission a cross-government Social Enterprise Strategy, coordinated from the centre of government (No10 and the Cabinet Office) with clear responsibilities between departments and measurable outcomes, and working together with social enterprises, sector leaders and civil servants. This would ensure social enterprise becomes a delivery partner for the government's agenda rather than an afterthought. 3. Put social value at the heart of public spending Government spends hundreds of billions of pounds each year buying goods and services. Burnham has already committed to strengthening social value in procurement. The next step is implementation: ensuring every department measures social value consistently and equitably, whilst increasing opportunities for social enterprises to compete fairly, and removing unnecessary barriers that favour large incumbents over innovative local providers. Public money should create social value. 4. Make growth more inclusive Labour has committed to creating a stronger economy and supporting more diverse business models. Social enterprises already demonstrate that commercial success and social impact can go hand in hand. We do not need to farm our services and domestic assets (housing, children's care) to overseas private equity. Government should ensure social enterprises are fully included in business support programmes, regional growth funds, export support and innovation initiatives. They should not need separate programmes, they should have equal access to mainstream economic policy. It is time to support the British social entrepreneur who leads in their community and creates localised community prosperity. 5. Back community wealth building Economic growth is strongest when wealth stays within local communities. Government should work with mayoral authorities and local councils to expand community wealth building, supporting local procurement, employee ownership, community businesses and social enterprises as anchors of local economies. Greater Manchester has already demonstrated what is possible; the challenge now is to make this a national model. A different way of doing business Burnham has often spoken about building an economy that works for working-class people and communities across the UK. Social enterprises represent that ambition daily. They generate revenue, create jobs, innovate in public services and reinvest profits to tackle the very challenges government is trying to solve. The first 100 days of any government sets the tone for the years that follow. By recognising social enterprise as a central part of Britain's economy, Burnham could unlock billions in economic activity while strengthening communities across the country. The sector is ready to help. What it needs now is a government prepared to put it at the heart of its economic strategy.

If you’ve ever doubted the value of your business network, consider the following: one business was set up because clients kept asking for a particular kind of service. That network was SEUK’s Buy Social Corporate Challenge.  Connection Crew is a social enterprise that has been creating opportunities for people affected by homelessness for two decades, providing event crew work, paying staff at least the London Living Wage and giving them valuable industry experience. As an SEUK Recommended Supplier – a database of B2B social enterprises that trade with large corporate clients – Connection Crew has been a regular attendee of SEUK’s Social Procurement Meetups. These events are an opportunity to connect with corporate buyers signed up to the Buy Social Corporate Challenge and other social procurement programmes run by SEUK. “We joined the cohort and spoke to the corporates about the kind of services they needed. And what they really needed was event production and sort of exhibition stand solutions,” explains Margarita Ktoris, Connection Crew’s Communications Manager. “And even though that wasn't what Connection Crew was doing at the time, we had expertise in the business. So essentially, we expanded our portfolio to cover it. And that's how Stitch was born.” Since launching, Stitch has grown into a full-service event production company, delivering everything from large-scale exhibitions and global summits to panel events and breakfast seminars. The service is end to end, from design and build through to filming, streaming and social media assets. And crucially, social and environmental impact is built in from the outset, not bolted on afterwards. On the environmental side, Stitch takes a circular approach to production, investing in reusable modular stock so that the vast majority of materials on any given project are built for reuse. On a recent panel event series for one of their corporate clients, 94% of the production was circular, meaning almost nothing went to waste. On the social side, revenue from Stitch productions funds places on the Connection Crew Academy, a training programme for people affected by homelessness that builds event crew skills, confidence and employability. As Stitch grows, so does its capacity to create those opportunities. It has also helped break the glass ceiling for Connection Crew employees. Crew members could gain experience, build confidence and develop skills, but the pathway into next-level event production roles simply didn't exist. With Stitch, those opportunities now exist. The relationship with corporate clients fostered through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge has been central to Stitch’s growth. It has been added to the preferred supplier rosters of major corporates, generating repeat work and long-term partnerships that allow impact to build over time. Across one such partnership alone, Stitch has generated over 3000 hours of London Living Wage work for people affected by homelessness. Around a third of startups fail within the first few years, so how has Stitch stayed in business? Ktoris’s answer is straightforward: "I think the impact - both environmentally and socially - is really important to clients. But comes down to being able to deliver events well. And being nice probably helps too!" It's a characteristically down-to-earth summary of what Stitch has achieved. Connection Crew saw a gap in the market and had the ambition to fill it. Stitch is not just raising the bar for sustainable event production, it's raising the glass ceiling for the people who make those events happen. stitchlive.co.uk

Most award winners at the UK Social Enterprise Awards have years of history behind them. EcoCoach CIC had barely twelve months. Liudvina Pires, Head of Operations, tell us what it means to win national recognition when you're still finding your feet - and why the award matters far less than the children it's helped them reach. When EcoCoach CIC applied for a UK Social Enterprise Award last year, they genuinely did not expect to win. They were a small, locally-rooted organisation, still relatively new, still building. The application, says Liudvina Pires, Head of Operations, was never really about the trophy. "Our application was less about recognition to us as a business and more about giving our mission a bigger platform," she explains. "We wanted to test whether what we are building resonated beyond our local area: to help raise awareness around child-first, inclusive provision." They found out they'd won the following day, having been unable to attend the ceremony due to personal circumstances. "It was a mixture of shock, pride and disbelief, if I'm honest," Pires says. "To become a national award winner within the very first year, it does feel surreal." Supporting all kinds of kids EcoCoach works with schools across the East Midlands and beyond, delivering curriculum PE lessons, lunchtime and after-school sports clubs, and wraparound care in the form of breakfast and after-school provision. But it's the third strand of their work - alternative provision - that Pires describes as simultaneously the most challenging and the most rewarding. Alternative provision serves children who, for a range of reasons, cannot thrive in mainstream education. Some have special education needs or disabilities (SEND) or social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Some are at risk of exclusion. Some are simply in the middle of a difficult transition - from primary to secondary school, or from a care home into a new environment. "We try to meet them where they are," says Pires. "We read their Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), their referral forms, what they enjoy, what their triggers might be, and we plan sessions around that." The approach is disarmingly practical. If a child loves football but struggles with maths, you don't sit them down with a worksheet. You score goals and count them. "We slowly build that connection through the activity they enjoy," she says. "And when we reflect on the progress within a term, it's clearly visible. Which is really, really rewarding." The children that EcoCoach works with range from two-and-a-half years old (following a recently signed nursery contract) all the way to teenagers in alternative provision settings. Across all of it, the guiding principle remains the same: no child should be left out because of their capabilities, and no session plan should be left unmodified if a child's circumstances require it. A business built on a gap EcoCoach was founded by Matthew Nelson, the company's director, who saw first-hand how many children were being failed by systems not designed around the way they actually learn, regulate, or engage. Through his own experience of school and child development, he became increasingly aware of the distance between what some children needed and what many institutions could reliably provide. The business started in April 2024, operating initially as a sole trader under the name Eco Coach PE Solutions. That early phase, says Pires, served a purpose: it allowed the team to test the model and refine the provisions before making the transition to a Community Interest Company structure, which happened in March 2025. The CIC designation was always the goal to formalise the social mission and create the right structure for long-term growth. From those early days of working with a handful of schools, EcoCoach has grown by around 75% in contract value, and expanded geographically across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and beyond. Focusing on the mission whilst growing  That growth has brought its own challenges. Pires is candid about the tension between scaling an organisation and preserving what made it worth scaling in the first place. "It's so easy to shift from what you want to achieve into just securing more contracts and increasing values," she says. "In the early days, everything sat with a very small number of people - delivery, safeguarding, staffing, finances, operations. As we grew, we learned that scaling isn't just about taking on more work. It's about building the right team and systems around the mission to protect it." Recruitment, she says, is central to that. Working with children who have complex needs requires not just skills but emotional resilience, and getting that wrong can do more than disappoint, it can pull the organisation's attention away from the children it exists to serve. "It's not about getting bigger," she says. "It's about building the right team around the mission and protecting the integrity of the organisation as it scales." National recognition  In the months since winning the 'One to Watch' award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards, EcoCoach has noticed something shift. Conversations are happening in places they hadn't reached before, such as Somerset and Manchester, areas well beyond their East Midlands base. Pires is careful not to overstate the causal link. "We can never know for definite," she says. But she suspects visibility has played a role: when people know what you do and can point to external validation of its value, the mission travels further. The most meaningful signal, though, comes not from award judges but from care homes. When one care home refers EcoCoach to another - when a child who worked with them becomes, in effect, a recommendation - that, says Pires, is the real measure. "It does speak volumes for us. It does tell us that we make a difference." eco-coach.co.uk

Tarem Services Limited has expanded its national cleaning services across the CBRE and Zurich portfolio to 13 locations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, further strengthening its position as a trusted national provider. The expansion reflects the continued confidence placed in Tarem Services by CBRE and Zurich and underlines the company's growing reputation for combining high-quality service delivery with meaningful social impact. Titus Komolafe, Managing Director of Tarem Services, said: "We are grateful for the continued trust placed in us by CBRE and Zurich. This expansion allows us to deliver high-quality services across more locations while creating employment opportunities and investing further in our communities. As a social enterprise, we remain committed to supporting our employees, tackling in-work poverty, and delivering meaningful value for our clients." Laura Bennett, CBRE Account Director, said: "Tarem Services has consistently delivered a high standard of service across the Zurich UK property portfolio. Their ability to combine innovative service delivery with a genuine commitment to social value has helped us achieve both our operational and wider social value objectives. Together with a highly competitive offering, this has made them a trusted partner and we are pleased to continue expanding our relationship with them.” As a result of this expansion and as part of its ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility, Tarem Services has offset 20 tonnes of CO₂ through the Verified Carbon Standard with Carbon Footprint Ltd. Tarem Services has also purchased 10 UK Trees through the UK Tree Planting Programme, helping to support tree planting in schools and communities while promoting climate education. A further 10 Kenya Trees have been purchased to support reforestation projects in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, creating employment opportunities and helping to restore degraded land. About Tarem Services Founded in 1999 with support from The King's Trust, Tarem Services Limited is a social enterprise cleaning company committed to tackling in-work poverty and food insecurity through responsible business practices and community-led initiatives. The company provides office and school cleaning, construction labour supply, pest control, and waste management services across the United Kingdom and Ireland while remaining committed to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. taremservices.com

The Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock MP, officially opened Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise’s (PDSE) Dental Education Practice in Plymouth city centre on Monday 29th June 2026, recognising an innovative partnership that is improving access to urgent NHS dental care while helping train the next generation of dental professionals. The Minister met staff from Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, members of the Dental Task Force led by Plymouth City Council, and undergraduate dental students. Although the practice welcomed its first patients on 9th February 2026, the official opening marks an important milestone in celebrating the impact the service is already having across the region. By the end of May, the practice had delivered 2,756 dental appointments to 1,585 patients since opening, including urgent dental care for patients referred through NHS 111 with conditions such as dental pain, infection and dental trauma. Run by Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise in partnership with the University of Plymouth, the Dental Education Practice has been designed to help address the growing demand for urgent dental care while also providing valuable hands-on experience for the next generation of dental professionals. The practice brings together dental students, Foundation Dentists, qualified Dental Therapists and Dentists, and highly skilled Dental Nurses, all working collaboratively within a carefully supervised and patient-centred environment. This multidisciplinary model ensures patients receive high-quality treatment while students and trainees develop the clinical confidence and professional skills needed for their future careers. Designed to simulate a real dental practice within an accessible city-centre location, the facility offers a fundamentally different teaching experience from a traditional large teaching clinic. Students and trainees are able to work alongside specialists and qualified clinicians, broadening their experience across a wide range of clinical disciplines and gaining exposure to the collaborative nature of contemporary dental care. This approach supports both exceptional patient outcomes and outstanding educational development. This model reflects Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise’s wider commitment to combining excellent primary dental care with high-quality clinical placement opportunities for students. Robert Witton, Chief Executive Officer of Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, said: “The official opening of our Dental Education Practice is an opportunity to celebrate what has already been achieved in just a few months. We’ve demonstrated that it is possible to improve access to NHS dental care while creating an outstanding learning environment for the next generation of dental professionals. This practice brings together students, Foundation Dentists, experienced Clinicians, and Dental Nurses in a truly collaborative setting that reflects how modern dentistry is delivered. Every patient treated not only receives safe, high-quality, compassionate care, but also plays an important role in developing the confidence and skills of our future workforce. We’re incredibly proud of the impact the practice is already having for patients across Plymouth and the wider region, and we’re delighted to welcome the Minister of State for Care to officially open this innovative facility.” Professor Ewen McColl, Head of the University’s Peninsula Dental School and Chair of the Dental Schools Council (UK and Ireland), said: “This practice represents a significant step forward in dental education. By embedding students within a modern primary care environment, they gain invaluable experience working alongside specialist clinicians and multidisciplinary teams while caring for patients with a wide range of dental needs. Plymouth graduates are recognised for their clinical confidence and compassionate approach, and the Dental Education Practice strengthens that reputation by providing even greater opportunities for hands-on learning. At the same time, we’re helping improve access to NHS dental care for our local communities, demonstrating the powerful impact that education and healthcare can have when they work together.” Health Minister, Stephen Kinnock, said: “It was a real pleasure to visit Plymouth today to officially open the Peninsula Dental Education Practice. This state-of-the-art facility will make a real difference for local people – delivering 12,000 NHS dental appointments a year, from urgent care through to more complex treatments.“It was a genuine pleasure to meet the students and hear first-hand about their training and ambitions. They are the future of NHS dentistry, and facilities like this are exactly how we rebuild that service from the ground up.” We are incredibly grateful to our patients, staff, University of Plymouth colleagues, and partners for their support during these first months since opening. Their contribution has helped establish a strong foundation for the practice, and we look forward to continuing to grow, welcoming more patients, and expanding opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students, registered Clinicians, and Dental Nurses alike. A patient at the Dental Education Practice commented: “I have had dental phobia for many years following traumatic experience of dental care. The team were very understanding, patient & supportive. I had three extractions, one of which was very stubborn & extremely painful to extract. The dentist & assistant were absolutely amazing, supporting me with empathy throughout the procedure. Thank you so so much.” This innovative facility has also been recognised for its design, having been shortlisted in the Education Project of the Year category at the 2026 Michelmore Property Awards. The Dental Education Practice represents an important investment in both patient care and the future dental workforce. By combining high-quality NHS dental services with innovative education and training, it is helping improve access to care across the South West while equipping future clinicians with the experience and skills needed to meet the evolving needs of patients. Find more information on the impact of the Dental Education Practice here. For more information on the services available at the Dental Education Practice, please refer to our website: www.peninsuladental.org.uk/clinics/plymouth-city-centre/ or contact pdse-info@plymouth.ac.uk