The government must focus on the social enterprise business sector, as the Big Society debate has lost sight of the goal of economic reform, the national body for social enterprise has warned.
According to a new report by the Social Enterprise Coalition, Britain has failed to focus on how the social enterprise market can help boost the economy. The national body is calling for the government to tackle the issue of economic reform by focusing on the role business has to play in helping to achieve economic recovery.
The ‘Time for Social Enterprise’ report outlines that social enterprises are businesses, but are commonly mistaken for charities, despite contributing over £20bn to the economy and employing nearly a million people.
Peter Holbrook, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: “Social enterprise is catching on around the globe. It needs to be better understood and better-used in the UK. It can help take the massive strain off our charitable sector and help our economy recover sustainably, rather than replacing like with like.
“There is a misconception that all 62,000 social enterprises in the UK sit alongside charities in the voluntary sector, but they don’t, they stride all sectors and industries. They are businesses.”
Many major companies are helping social enterprise develop as a powerful new market and have urged the government to provide support by setting up a national social enterprise taskforce to integrate social and economic policy.
Last year, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) set up a social enterprise frontline banking team, and O2, the telecommunications giant, launched a mobile phone package for social enterprises.
A YouGov poll revealed that there is public appetite for social enterprises, with just over half (52%) of British adults saying they want to make to make a positive difference to society through their work.
© Crimson Business. Ltd 2011