Category Archives: social enterprise

Are we sleep-walking towards a Big Six in public services?

Posted on 17/10/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

David Cameron is due to meet the Big Six energy companies to persuade them to rein in their  price increases.

But are we in danger of sleep-walking towards a Big Six in public services too? This piece by the excellent Craig Dearden-Phillips makes some strong points about a ‘possible cartelisation of public services’.

He argues that the government needs to be ‘more categoric about mutuals and  social enterprises. This sector doesn’t really have much chance in a free-for-all. Government commitment to seeing a strong mutual sector, backed by the will to see it done, is what is needed now if the diversity spoken of in the public services white paper is to be more than just a wish-list. Diversity needs to be deliberately created as markets need to be ‘made’, he says.

Incidentally, an earlier piece by Dearden-Phillips refers to the situation in Stroud where a court order was successfully applied for to stop a social enterprise being formed to take forward former NHS services. You can read more about that case here

Much has been written about Central Surrey Health’s bid for a contract that has already prompted much jump-the-gun downbeat thinking about the prospects of mutuals. Baroness Jay was the latest to weigh in on the contract according to  a report last week.

I would suggest that perhaps it’s time for a bit of perspective here. It’s one contract; and it’s not the only contract that Central Surrey Health is bidding for, I’m sure. Business’s  fortunes  don’t depend on one contract; they bid for numbers of pieces of work. They win some; they lose some. Hopefully they win more than they lose.

I would expect that if Central Surrey Health has lost this opportunity – and I have yet to hear any public comment from it that it has – then it is already  looking ahead to the next one – or ones – after that. And then further opportunities too.

Surely the fortunes and prospects for the mutuals sector don’t just rest on the back of one NHS mutual, and one contract. A bit more positivity and perspective wouldn’t be a bad idea.

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Posted in Campaign4Change, mutualisation, mutuals, public sector, public services, social enterprise

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What will institutions look like post-financial crisis? A role for mutuals and social enterprises?

Posted on 13/10/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

There are growing discussions and debate over what institutions will look like in the future, post financial-crisis.

This piece in the latest edition of Dissent Magazine refers to the role of co-operatives in providing innovation in institution reform. It’s a very US-centric piece, but does refer to the Mondragon co-operative model in Spain. Worth a read.

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Posted in innovation, mutualisation, mutuals, public sector, reforms, social economy, social enterprise

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Mutualism: “perhaps the most flexible and beneficial way of transforming our public services”

Posted on 07/10/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

Phillip Blond, director of the ResPublica think tank has discussed the future role of mutuals in Serco’s Ethos journal.

Blond suggests mutualism “represents perhaps the most flexible and beneficial way of transforming our public services. Happily, the government is committed to this model: Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, has stated that he would like to see a million public sector workers employed in mutuals by 2015. In simple terms, mutualism is based on principles of reciprocity, equity and fairness. It is a system that allows for equity (what you put in and therefore can take out), be that in terms of finance or services, to be realised in any number of ways.”

To achieve the positive transformation of our public services, he says, “we need to find new models of mutualism fit for the 21st century. This means creating innovative ways of bringing together public and private capital, enabling private companies to make a fair return from their capital investments, while at the same time giving all those involved a stake or return of some sort.”

An example, he suggests, comes from the energy sector. “In Denmark, a community will often allow an incinerator to be built in their neighbourhood (in Britain the very idea would provoke mass protest) but they get cheaper electricity in return, often around 30%. The incinerators, designed by the very best architects, cut down radically on waste disposal and landfill. In addition, house price values increase for those on the local energy network because bills are cheaper, and the strategy is seen as ethical. To me, this type of reciprocal economy is a form of mutualism.”

As to whether the government’s goal of seeing a million public sector workers in mutuals by 2015 is achievable, Blond says this,  “It is possible but the challenges are considerable. Many public sector workers are driven by vocation, and if they see that they can provide a better service within a mutual framework, then mutualism in the public sector can succeed.

“But employees can’t be offered risk for no return; you have to offer certain guarantees if you want them to move to a new platform. The offer to public sector workers has to be geniune. It has to be based on an equity stake, on the security of a viable business model (which means good contracts for the initial spin out companies) and on the genuine option of learning new skills, while also letting people share in the efficiencies that result.”

You can read Blond’s piece, plus a response from Jane Dudman here

The Journal also carries a piece on implementing the Open Public Services White Paper

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Posted in Campaign4Change, mutualisation, mutuals, public sector, public services, social enterprise

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Making the right noises about the social economy

Posted on 03/10/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

Andrew Tyrie’s comments about the Big Society perhaps haven’t been overwhelmingly helpful when it comes to promoting  the growing role of mutuals and co-operatives. Hopefully when David Cameron gives his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Wednesday, he’ll have some more  positive things to say about open public services, and specifically something about the well-flagged funding and procurement issues.

These issues have been well summed up in two recent blogs I came across by Craig Dearden-Phillips, and by Matthew Taylor from the RSA. They’re worth a read.

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Posted in Campaign4Change, managing change, mutualisation, mutuals, public sector, public services, social economy, social enterprise

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Cabinet Office tells mutuals future is bright despite Central Surrey Health struggles over NHS deal

Posted on 20/09/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

The Cabinet Office has encouraged would-be mutual and social enterprises to see the government’s plans to open up public services as a positive move that yields new opportunities despite a flagship mutual reportedly losing out on a major contract to a commercial organisation for NHS services.

The Financial Times reported yesterday that Assura Medical has been named as preferred bidder for a five- year contract worth about £90m a year for community health services in Surrey, beating a bid by Central Surrey Health, the flagship social enterprise that runs services in the neighbouring area.

A Cabinet Office spokesman was quoted as saying: “This is not the end for Central Surrey Health; they continue to provide critical services for the people of Surrey. Across the public sector we have started to see the emergence of a new wave of mutuals.

“The government has ambitious plans to support front-line staff who want to form mutual organisations and take control of the services they provide. We are working to ensure that all organisations bid for contracts on a level playing field. We are currently conducting a listening exercise on the Open Public Services white paper, it’s vital that mutual organisations contribute to the discussion.”

The government wants to see the fledgling mutual and social enterprise sector grow to encourage a million staff to leave the public sector and sell services back to local government and the NHS.

In a press release issued by Social Enterprise UK, Peter Holbrook, the organisation’s chief executive encouraged the government to create a financial level playing field and give mutual and social enterprises the chance to gain a foothold in the commercial world:

“If Central Surrey Health, the government’s flagship mutual social enterprise, which has demonstrated considerable success in transforming health services and increasing productivity can’t win, what does this say for the future of the mutuals agenda?

“Central Surrey Health reinvests all the profits it makes locally. It is difficult to imagine how Assura, with shareholders expecting a financial return, could do more to benefit people in Surrey.

“It is not enough for government to open up markets; it needs to create fair markets that benefit society. Some of the financial criteria used in contracts create an unequal playing field in which social enterprises are unable to compete because they may not have the same financial backing as private sector providers.  Unless swift action is taken to address this we will see social enterprises and mutuals lose out to the private sector.

“Public sector workers will be understandably anxious about spinning out from the NHS and setting up a social enterprise on the back of this news. The government needs to take action to reassure them that they will not be operating in markets weighted against them.

It has been argued by unions that mutualisation hides a privatisation agenda with mutuals at risk of losing out to commercial operators as contracts come up for renewal. Central Surrey’s own contract is reported to be up for renewal next year.

Central Surrey Health was the UK’s first social enterprise to leave the NHS and set up as an employee-owned business four years ago. Central Surrey Health is contracted to deliver community nursing and therapy services on behalf of the NHS and other organisations (e.g. Surrey County Council) to the 280,000 population of central Surrey. It is owned by the nurses and therapists it employs, who each own a 1p, not-for-dividend share.

It has been selected by the Cabinet Office to help mentor employee-owned organisations coming out of the public sector. Twelve fledgling public service spin-offs have been chosen by the Cabinet Office to be ‘Pathfinders’ for the rest of the public sector. As mentors, Central Surrey Health will work with and support staff on Pathfinder projects to help them develop sustainable, efficient and pioneering employee-led services. Last November it was also named as the Prime Minister’s first Big Society Award winner.

Hammersmith& Fulham Pathfinder to launch in 2012

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Posted in Campaign4Change, mutualisation, mutuals, NHS, public sector, public services, social enterprise

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Economic boost of nurturing mutuals and social enterprises a key focus of party conference season

Posted on 09/09/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

Mutuals and social enterprises are likely to be a strong area of interest in this year’s party conference season, which gets underway for the main parties with the Liberal Democrats in Birmingham on September 17th.

As the Guardian reports in this piece looking forward to the party conferences through a social enterprise lens, much of the focus will be on the role that social enterprise can play in transforming public services and stimulating economic recovery. 

It makes the point that “new research by Social Enterprise UK (formerly the Social Enterprise Coalition) has revealed a “start up explosion”, with 39% of social enterprises based and working in Britain’s most deprived areas. This compares to 13% of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“The research also found that the UK’s 62,000 social enterprises are outstripping business in terms of growth – 58% of social enterprises grew last year compared to 28% of SMEs.”

The optimism is to some extent offset by pessimism that  the current commissioning process will favour large-scale private sector providers over mutuals and social enterprises.

Here are links to the main parties conferences:

Lib Dems
Labour
Conservatives

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Posted in Campaign4Change, mutualisation, mutuals, public sector, public services, social enterprise

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Councils consider mutuals and social enterprises among new funding models for youth services

Posted on 24/08/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has  proposed a pilot scheme to set up an employee-led mutual to deliver services to schools and the council, with the council commissioning some services from the mutual for a four year period.  But what are other councils doing in the area of children and youth services?

This article about youth services on the Children & Young People Now site suggests that according to a recent study, when questioned about alternative funding models for funding youth services, 34 per cent of local authorities say they are considering social enterprises, 20 per cent are looking into youth mutuals and 15 per cent say they are currently considering outsourcing their entire youth service to another provider. Overall, only 37 per cent are considering any alternative models of funding.

The article quotes Sue Payne, chair of the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services, which brings together council youth chiefs, saying that CYP Now’s study highlighted that councils are “increasing the number of services they are commissioning.”

Payne said the study showed encouraging signs that authorities are seeking new funding avenues. “There are quite a lot of moves towards social enterprises and youth mutuals,” she said, adding that only a year ago very few youth services would have considered these options.

She added the point that that “You can’t just create good delivery systems overnight”. Although external providers had a strong track record in delivering information, advice and guidance, she said, this was not the case in areas such as targeted youth support.

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Social Enterprise: 5 steps to a sustainable public sector mutuals market

Posted on 19/08/2011 | Leave a comment

By David Bicknell

Social Enterprise recently carried an excellent  piece by Andrew Laird from Mutual Ventures on how organisations can build on the ambition demonstrated by the recent open public services white paper on opening up public services.

His ideas for turning ambition into action include:

* A more robust Right to Challenge/Provide, which should be as universal as possible across public services.

* Easier access to seed funding for groups of staff who are thinking about mutualising.

* Clearer guidance on procurement rules.

* Social value placed on a par with economic value.

* A step change in public service culture and leadership.

You can read Andrew’s piece here

Not everyone is always quite as positive about mutuals.  This piece by Paul O’Brien from the Association for Public Service Excellence  strikes a more underwhelming note.

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Guardian Social Enterprise event to focus on solutions to move on from ‘brave new dawn’

Posted on 16/08/2011 | Leave a comment

The Guardian has published details of its Social Enterprise 2011 conference to be held in London on 8th November.

It argues that social enterprise was seen as a brave new dawn for service delivery but since the social enterprise unit was set up ten years ago, progress has been relatively slow.

The one day event “explores the facts about social enterprises providing public sector services. It provides candid discussion about the obstacles and practical solutions to the challenges the sector faces.”

The conference will discuss what the government is doing to scale up ambitious enterprises, and look at business models, finance and commissioning.  It will also take a close look at mutuals  from the point of view of service delivery rather than organisational structure. The reasons some mutuals have done so well is that they provide exceptional services and customer loyalty.  So what lessons can be learned from successful mutuals?

Here are details of the conference programme.

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