Social Enterprise Barometer – February 2023

Three years ago the Commission on Social Investment founded by our Chair, Lord Victor Adebowale, published its findings. It found some key structural issues within the social investment market including the deprioritisation of social enterprises over the past decade and regional disparities in access to finance. We've just published a review into whether the Commission's recommendations for reform have been delivered.  ‘This report card’ recognises some signs of progress but also highlights concerns in areas such as government strategy, key market institutions and access to funding products.

This Insights Paper outlines the key themes from the latest Social Enterprise Advisory Panel, a quarterly survey by Social Enterprise UK to collect a snapshot of  sector conditions and expectations. The paper looks at the challenges social enterprises have faced over the last year, the sector’s priorities for the new Labour government, the role of local government, views on the Procurement Act and the government’s New Deal for Working People.

Based on a quarterly survey of our members, the latest Insight Paper on our Social Enterprise Knowledge Centre explores the sector's policy priorities for the new government. It also looks in more depth into social enterprises as employers and how they feel about the key policy proposals contained within the Labour government's ‘New Deal for Working People'. Other areas covered in this report include social enterprises' views on tax for public services and on business rates.