Thought Leadership

Sally Callow, Managing Director of social enterprise Stripy Lightbulb CIC, hosted a webinar on how to identify and support the challenges faced by staff with invisible disabilities within working environments.  The webinar covered Definition of an invisible disabilityTypes of invisible disabilitiesHow workplaces may be challengingWhy is nondisclosure an important issue?How can employers support employees with invisible disabilities? Watch the recording below: 19 October 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJfMR-nQylc

Many social enterprises have little time for marketing, often relying on social media to build communities and share news – but what should you be focusing on and what else should you be doing? In this webinar, Jane Thompson from Thompson Marketing took attendees through different strategies to help get organisations noticed, whilst ensuring you don’t feel overwhelmed as a business owner. The webinar covered: Marketing strategy and ensuring you focus on what works for youWhy content is always kingSocial media platforms – what to focus on and how to manage themPractical tips and tools to help you feel confident and build your marketing know-how Watch the recording here: 12 October 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwA2v5GIDGA

Social enterprises are more representative of wider society than traditional businesses with 14% being led by someone from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic community, compared to just 8% of SMEs.[1] This Black History Month we are spotlighting Black-led social enterprises which are breaking down barriers, creating opportunities and transforming lives. The Blair Project Set up by brothers Nile and Blair Henry when they were just teenagers, The Blair Project is a Manchester based social enterprise on a mission to diversify the STEM workforce and accelerate the transition to net zero through sustainable motorsport. The business aims to provide opportunities to young people so that they can participate in the green tech revolution through building, racing and accelerating innovations in electric go-karts. Combining fun with learning, the Blair Project has helped build confidence and open up new possibilities for the young people it works with. One of the social enterprises’ main programmes is the ProtoEV Challenge which works with young people aged 10-19. The Challenge sees teams work together to convert used petrol go-karts into electric e-karts giving participants knowledge in topics such as physics, IT, design and branding as well as technical skills in areas such as 3D printing, battery technologies and electronic controls. Diversity and inclusion are core to the Project’s work and programmes are specifically set up to target young people who have low awareness of jobs in STEM with a real focus on supporting young Black and Asian youth, women and working-class talent from all backgrounds. So far the business has worked with over 560 young people. 95% of participants who complete the ProtoEV programme have found jobs, apprenticeships or moved into further education. theblairproject.org Generation Success Founded after the London Riots in 2011 by social entrepreneur James Adeleke, Generation Success was created with the aim of countering the “lost generation” narrative which characterised much of the media coverage of the events. The company aims to give people from poorer communities access to the same opportunities open to the wealthy or as James phrases it to: “create a world where your career opportunities are not determined by your birth”. The social enterprise is dedicated to social mobility, running a series of programmes specifically focused on young people from minority and low-income backgrounds. These include mentoring, networking events, training and job opportunities designed to allow businesses to connect with people from diverse backgrounds. Generation Success now has partnerships with 70 employers including big businesses like PwC, SAP and BT and even the BBC. Through working in partnership with businesses, Generation Success has been able to work with organisations to help transform their recruitment practices and open up access to a pool of talent that is overlooked. James’ work has received several accolades, including earning a place on the NatWest SE100 Index, and winning the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award in the National Diversity Awards 2022. Generation Success’s work has been transformative. The social enterprise now has a network of over 10,000 young people, 70% of whom are from disadvantaged and/or ethnic minority backgrounds. It recently launched a programme in partnership with other organisations to increase diversity in the sustainability sector which currently is only made up of an estimated 3.1% of professionals from a ethnic minority background. generation-success.com Rising Star Property Solutions La’Toyah Lewis came up with the idea of setting up a business to give people a second chance when her personal circumstances led to it being difficult for her to find work. Her own lived experience meant she was keenly aware of how poverty and lack of opportunity are  barriers to employment, and it was this that inspired her to set up Rising Star Property Solutions. Rising Stars is a social enterprise property service company dedicated to supporting disadvantaged groups including ex-offenders, people with mental health issues, single parents and those experiencing long-term unemployment. It has now grown to become the third largest property service company in the Midlands, managing a portfolio of over 60,000 properties. Unlike other property service businesses, Rising Stars is “social value and people-led” with a mission to provide work experience, training and employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups. The business primarily works with the social housing sector offering four main services – cleaning, clearance, gardening and construction. All of its money is earned through trading and profit is put back into training, employing and supporting more people. risingstarpropertysolutions.com [1] https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/seuk-report/no-going-back-state-of-social-enterprise-survey-2021/

17 October 2022 Responding to today’s announcements from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: Social Enterprise UK welcomes the Chancellor's commitment to targeting energy support for business and encouraging energy efficiency, as social enterprises are more likely than other SMEs to have been investing in energy efficiency since before the energy crisis began. We call on the Chancellor to consider investing more in the social enterprise sector to help accelerate this work and contribute to an enterprise-led recovery.  Social enterprises are under pressure from increased energy costs now and will need support as long as the energy crisis continues, which is unlikely to stop in April.

Buying from social enterprises has never been more important. Whether you are visiting a café and want to find one that is giving jobs to people with learning difficulties, like Lily’s Social Kitchen, or buying a new fence from a company giving skills to ex-offenders, like Trinity Fencing, or buying some amazing gifts from a company giving high street space to local makers, like Made in Ashford, this conference will explore how we can all support each other. It will also look at how we engage the public and other businesses to buy from social enterprises. Social Enterprise Kent will also be launching their new Buy Local, Buy Social directory – a FREE directory to promote social enterprises in the region Speakers include: Damian Green, MP for AshfordClaudia Sykes OBE, Social Enterprise KentAndrew O’Brien, Social Enterprise UKTudor Price, Kent Invicta Chamber of CommerceJosephine McCartney, Kent Community Foundation And more! Details: Friday 18th November 9.30am registration, tea and coffee ready for 10am startClose at 4pm Spaces are limited, so we are requesting only 2 people per organisation attend. BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE

Keen observers of social media will have noticed that Social Enterprise UK attended the Conservative Party Conference this year, one that will live long in the memory for the news and content it generated. As with Labour, we were there to understand the future direction of policy and to raise awareness of the social enterprise sector. Social enterprise and levelling up Away from the headlines, there were some positive references to social enterprise and recognition of the value of the sector. On Sunday, the New Social Covenant Unit launched a new paper called “Social Capitalism” (covered in the Times and on Radio 4), authored by 12 Conservative MPs.   The paper made the case for investing in our social infrastructure, the local institutions that make up our communities, and treating it as seriously as our physical infrastructure (roads, railways, broadband). The paper made numerous references to social enterprises from the importance of social enterprises in maintaining this social infrastructure to social enterprises delivering public services in a way that listens and works with communities creating stronger bonds between people. This will require investment in the sector, reform to the way that we deliver public services and greater support for communities to develop social enterprise solutions. The paper was launched by the former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Dehenna Davison, the new Minister for Levelling Up, who both endorsed the vision outlined in the paper. We will be taking this forward to see if warm words can be turned into strong action to support social enterprises and realise their potential to level up the country. There were also positive references to social enterprises at a number of different events, particularly those organised by the sector such as those from Social Investment Business and Big Society Capital. Overall, there was a sense at conference that “enterprise” was the way to help communities to level up – although without a clear sense of what government was doing to stimulate this enterprise. No plan for growth or public services The centre piece of the conference was “growth” and how the government was going to deliver growth. It is clear that accelerating the growth of GDP is going to be the central focus of the government. The problem is that there is simply no plan to deliver it beyond tax cuts. Social enterprise is one of the fastest growing forms of business in the country, yet the ideological view from No.10 is that the business of business must only be business. There is no recognition that alternative approaches putting social and environmental purpose first could drive faster growth and generate greater resilience through encouraging long term investment in people and places. The main positive of the Mini-Budget and its fall out is that the shallowness of the position on tax cuts has encouraged politicians and the media to think more broadly. If tax cuts won’t work, what will improve our economy? The fact that noted economist, Kate Raworth, was invited to speak on Radio 4 in the wake of the Prime Minister’s speech is a recognition in the media that we need a national conversation on what drives growth beyond tax cuts and deregulation. Social enterprises will need to fight to be heard but for the first time in a while, a genuine debate is emerging. The other concerning area is public services. Under the radar of conference, the government announced that departmental budgets would not see their funding increase by inflation. Effectively that is a cut of £18bn for government departments and these savings will be passed through the system, with public services and welfare budgets likely to come under severe strain. Schools and hospitals alone are estimated to have to find £11bn in “efficiency savings” to make up for rising prices. Given the state of public services after a decade of austerity and the impact of COVID, this feels untenable. Backbench Conservative MPs were clearly worried about the impact of further cuts to spending and once Ministers face the reality of these spending reductions, some form of rebellion feels likely. However, the embattled state of the government means that there is no guarantee that this policy will be changed. Social enterprises delivering public services should plan for a difficult two years ahead. A tale of two parties The overriding sense of this conference was a party divided. On the one hand, those that have a more holistic view of society and the economy are concerned that this government is heading in the wrong direction. On the other hand, those that want to see government get out of the way and cut taxes for business feel that they simply need to stay the course. Their plan will work, if it is given time. In the middle are a lot of MPs and activists who do not know what to think. Who will win out in this battle, it is hard to say. Either way, Social Enterprise UK will keep engaging with politicians on all sides to recognise the value and importance of social enterprise for our future. The fastest way to grow our economy and have high quality public services is to grow social enterprise. By Andrew O'Brien - Director of External Affairs at Social Enterprise UK

As we wrote earlier in the summer, HM Government is running a consultation on how the English portion of reclaimed dormant assets should be spent (dormant assets being a financial product, such as a bank account, which has not been used for many years, and which the provider has been unable to reunite with its owner despite efforts aligned with industry best practice)The last round of dormant assets helped to create Big Society Capital and laid the platform for the social investment market. It created the Access Foundation. It created Fair For All Finance and the Youth Endowment Fund. These are all significant investments and interventions. Dormant assets matter.The consultation lasts until 9th October (this Sunday) and as promised, Social Enterprise UK has put together a template which you can download and send to the consultation – saving you time whilst making sure your voice is heard What do you need to do in five easy steps Download the template response. Insert the name of your social enterprise (Q2), the sector you work in (Q6) and the geography that your social enterprise operates across (Q8). Check that you are happy with the template response and add in any additional points you would like to make. Email dormantassetsconsultation@almaeconomics.com with a copy of the template and cc our Director of External Affairs - andrew.obrien@socialenterprise.org.uk so we can track response rates. If you are super-keen, you can also tweet @DCMS to tell them you have taken part in the consultation and you want dormant assets to help grow the social enterprise sector. Something like: I’ve taken part in the Dormant Assets Consultation 2022 because I want @DCMS to use dormant assets to invest in #socialenterprise through social investment and Community Wealth Funds. Once you have hit send you’ve done your bit to help the sector! What we are calling for We have two simple asks. One is for more money for social investment to address the issues raised by the Adebowale Commission on Social Investment.The Commission found that whilst social investment had helped some social enterprises, it had not fulfilled its potential due to a lack of flexible capital which could be deployed to provide “enterprise-centric” finance. It also found geographical and racial inequalities in the distribution of social investment.The Commission made several recommendations to address these challenges including the creation of a £50m black-led social investment fund to tackle inequalities faced by black-led social enterprises, putting more investment into place-led infrastructure and creating a “Frontiers Fund” to provide capital to give flexible finance into social enterprises.We need dormant assets to resolve these issues, to reform the market and get social enterprises the access to finance they need. Our second ask is to support the development of Community Wealth Funds. These funds would distribute locally administered pots of money which would be used to provide patient funding for social infrastructure – the community spaces and social enterprises that we depend upon and bring us together. This proposal is being championed by the Community Wealth Fund Alliance which includes Social Enterprise UK. We need to invest in our communities and dormant assets can provide some of the resources to do that.Both of these can be funded through dormant assets and they compliment each other. Don't miss your chance to have your say Unfortunately, just reading this email and nodding along won’t be taken into consideration by DCMS.The only way to have your say is to fill in their survey or download our template response and email it in (which will be quicker, I promise!).At a time when social enterprises need help to grow and sustain themselves, you can do your bit to help our sector get access to £738m of dormant assets.Don’t miss your chance to influence the decision By Andrew O'Brien - Director of External Affairs at Social Enterprise UK

This week the Labour Party gathered in Liverpool to mobilise its supporters, discuss policy ideas and develop their pitch to voters. It isn’t a secret that the mood in the Labour Party was very confident with events in the City and the financial markets only strengthening the sense within Labour that they could be on the cusp of returning to government. But what would a Labour Government mean for social enterprise? Would this be a new dawn for the sector? Don’t frighten the horses If there was a theme for the conference (beyond the strapline: A Greener, Fairer Future) it was responsibility. Labour wants to be seen as responsible stewards of the public finances. They want to be seen as responsible custodians of the NHS and public services. They want to be seen to be responsible on climate change. This responsibility manifested itself as a desire to avoid doing anything that could spook the media or business. Yes, Labour would create a new energy company – Great British Energy. But it will not sell energy directly to customers, that will remain with the current market providers. It won’t be nationalising any existing companies, it will work in partnership with what is already there. Yes, Labour will create a new National Wealth Fund, taking stakes in the projects the state invests in. But this is not new money. It is essentially a sub-section of the £28bn Labour has already promised on net zero. Yes, there would be more money for the NHS – but it would be funded by reversing the scrapping of the 45p tax rate – worth around £2bn a year or 1.4% increase. This is not to say that these are bad ideas. Far from it. However, those expecting that a massive poll lead was going to unleash radicalism or significant investment in public services are misjudging the mood. At the moment, the closer that Labour feels to victory, the more cautious the party becomes. All business is good business? Social Enterprise UK attended a number of events and discussions at the Conference on business. The mood was generally positive. Labour wants to collaborate with business and businesses, seeing the way the wind is blowing, want to collaborate with Labour. Again and again the phrase “partnership with business” echoed throughout the meeting rooms. Labour would not “lecture” business. Labour believed that businesses want to do the “right thing”. But do they? Is all business good business? Business can be a powerful force for good, but that does not mean that all businesses are interested in unleashing that potential. This is where Labour needs to be more sceptical and look back on the performance of the British economy over the past forty years. If business as usual really worked, would we be in our current situation?  In parts of our sector, there is a view that given the alignment between the values of Labour and the values of social enterprises, a future Labour Government would naturally be a strong supporter of social enterprise. Investment and support will naturally flow from their electoral victory. The truth is more complicated. There was some good news at Conference. Social enterprises were referenced in Labour’s new industrial strategy, as was social value. The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, announced higher standards in public procurement – which we understand will include strengthening social value to help more SMEs and social enterprises. However, we still have work to do to convince Labour that talking about and investing in social enterprise is not rebuking the rest of the private sector, it is a pro-business measure. We have to remove that hesitation and get Labour to see social enterprise for what it is – the fastest growing form of business in Britain, firmly in the mainstream of our economy. Labour should not be worried about social enterprise, it should embrace it. If we can do this, we can get the investment and support our sector needs and make our economy fairer and greener for all. That will be Social Enterprise UK’s mission from now until the next election.   By Andrew O'Brien - Director of External Affairs at Social Enterprise UK