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8 September 2022 Lord Victor Adebowale, Chair of Social Enterprise UK and Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said:  Her Majesty the Queen has been the ultimate leader of our nation for the last 70 years. We, along with millions of others, have greatly admired her unwavering commitment to her duties and how she made supporting social causes a central part of her role, through her patronages.   Throughout all the challenges the UK has faced in her reign she has provided stability, comfort and shown steadfast leadership, often saying exactly what people have needed to hear in some of our most trying times. This is a deeply sad time for the UK and our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this time of their great personal loss. 

8 September 2022 Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement on energy costs this afternoon, Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK said: Today businesses needed to hear from the Prime Minister that the government has a plan to help them stave off calamity this winter and beyond. We have heard only some of the plan for winter, but social enterprises need more detail. It is crucial that businesses are given clarity quickly. We also need to avoid needless cliff-edges. This energy crisis is predicted to last at least a year, not six months, as the government has recognised for households. We must avoid a situation where businesses close or jobs are lost because we have not put in place a long-term plan. The Prime Minister is right to be looking at how the UK can shore itself up against energy crises in future. Two-thirds of social enterprises have or plan to have tackling the climate crisis as one of their legally binding objectives. It’s clear more businesses need to adopt similar commitments to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. We also need to invest in community energy, where social enterprises are working with local people to develop renewables that can reduce carbon emissions and help reduce the cost of energy over the long term.

Responding to Liz Truss winning the Conservative leadership election, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK Peter Holbrook said:  Liz Truss’ appointment as Prime Minister comes at a critical time for our society and economy. We look forward to working with her Government on the role of social enterprise in getting Britain back on track.  Like all businesses, social enterprises need to know that the Government has a plan for them this winter, which is why we are urging the new Prime Minister to include a substantial package for business in her forthcoming energy announcement, that reflects the scale and urgency of the threats at hand.   Social enterprises have proven themselves time and time again to be resilient, but they are not of course immune to the effects of skyrocketing energy bills, along with other eye watering increases in operating costs. They need to know the government is behind them for the tough winter ahead and beyond.  Social enterprise should be a vital component of the engine for delivering growth and prosperity to the UK, while also reaping benefits for the environment and communities. We want to work with the new Government so that its new vision sees the potential for social enterprise and all that it delivers. 

1 September 2022 Commenting on the serious financial pressures facing social enterprises, Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of SEUK, said: “Social enterprise performance has strengthened as we emerge from the height of the COVID crisis. But this growth and resilience is under threat as the business community and wider society face a financial crisis the likes of which has not been seen in almost half a century. Social enterprises are stepping up to the plate to continue to deliver for the causes, communities and people they support and to do the best they can by their staff. However, for many the costs of operating are set to skyrocket, to levels that may challenge even the most robust of social enterprises.  “There are many social enterprises that will be providing vital support to those worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis, and it’s crucial they’re able to keep doing so in the coming winter and beyond.” “We have been working with other business sector groups over the summer on what the package of support required might be and expect to meet with Government representatives to discuss the swift rollout of support once the new Prime Minister is in place.”

Social Enterprise UK is working in partnership with the University of Westminster on a programme of work focused on social enterprises and gender empowerment. Many social enterprises are working to tackle gender inequality – creating jobs, opening up opportunities and tackling entrenched social attitudes. This programme aims to work with social enterprises to help them embed gender empowerment into their work and day-to-day operations. Since November 2021 an expert team of academics from the university have been running a series of practical workshops with participating social enterprises to help them develop strategies to empower the women they employ or support. Early workshops took place online but have now moved to in person events, the latest of which looked at how the Theory of Change and Social Relations Approach can be used to develop gender empowerment strategies. Academics taking part in the programme are Dr Lilian Miles, Dr Maria Granados, Dr Vincent Rich and Dr Anastasia Alexeeva Why should I get involved and who can take part? The workshops are open to any Social Enterprise UK member interested in doing their part to create a gender equal world. Participating social enterprises do not need to have a primary social purpose of tackling gender inequality. The programme is a great way to provide your social enterprise with the organisational tools necessary to put in place systems which empower the women you work with and support, taking academic theory and putting it into practice. Workshops so have have looked in depth at areas such as creating a theory of change, design thinking and impact measurement. If you’re interested in taking part, please contact our membership team at membership@socialenterprise.org.uk Gender Empowerment Guide for Social Enterprises in the UK As part of this series of work the University of Westminster produced a Gender Empowerment Guide for use by social enterprises to empower the women they employ. Co-produced with social enterprises, the guide showcases best practice, potential challenges and how to address them, and provides clear indicators to measure the effectiveness and impact of gender empowerment practices. Click here to read the guide 

The Summer 2022 Social Enterprise Barometer report shows that social enterprises are stepping up to the challenges of the economic storms battering many businesses and communities, but signs of strains are beginning to show. The Social Enterprise Barometer is published quarterly by Social Enterprise UK based on survey feedback from social enterprises. The survey looked at the economic performance of social enterprises in the last quarter as well as the impact rising costs and the resulting cost-of-living crisis is having on these businesses. Overall, across the 173 respondents, turnover and staffing had recovered since January and social enterprises are generally optimistic about the future. There has however been a downward trend in cashflow among those surveyed with more social enterprises responding that they have less than three months’ funds available. Responding to rising costs A key focus of the report was on the impact of rising costs across the economy and the survey showed that two thirds (66%) of social enterprises reported an increase in operating costs with around a quarter (24%) saying costs had increased significantly in the last quarter. Leaders at social enterprises are responding to the challenges of increasing costs for their businesses, staff and customers in different ways. Despite an increase in running costs for 66% of those surveyed, just 27% of respondents had increased their prices. When asked how the cost-of-living crisis was affecting the people and communities they work with and support, a third (33%) of those surveyed expected an increase in demand for their services, and conversely a quarter (23%) expected a fall in demand as people would struggle to afford their products or services. One in five (19%) expected to have to refer people on more to other support services. Supporting and growing the workforce A third (33%) of social enterprises reported having increased their staff numbers in the previous quarter, compared to a quarter (23%) who had done so in March. This may demonstrate that social enterprises tend not to offload staff as a solution to financial difficulties or uncertainty. A third (31%) of those surveyed had increased staff pay and one in six (17%) have taken other measures to protect staff amid the cost-of-living crisis. One London social enterprise leader said: “I have allowed staff to do more hours than I know we can realistically afford in the long term. I let them take more food home and feed them more at work. I have reworked shift patterns to support more lift sharing to save petrol.” Report author Emily Darko, Director of Research at SEUK, said:   “This report offers a finger on the pulse of the social enterprise movement and shows that because social enterprises are mission-led, their emphasis is on responding to growing demands for support and services – not on profits. We know that social enterprises are resilient and are excellent at flexing to accommodate challenges and pushing for change. However, they of course are not immune to the effects of the economic turbulence: there are clear signs of strain emerging – financially, but also in terms of leadership and staff capacity and wellbeing." You can read the barometer report here

Ideas into Action is a programme that supports people from a refugee background who live in the UK to develop their own social enterprises and non-profits. Delivered by Result CIC, TERN (The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network) and Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) – Ideas into Action provides specialist support including workshops, professional coaching, business, marketing and fundraising information and skills training, as well as public-facing events. Ten refugee entrepreneurs took part in this first programme. 100% say that they would highly recommend it to others, and 100% say that the programme helped them get closer to achieving their professional goals. Now, we're looking for participants for Ideas into Action's next programme, starting in October. Ideas into Action will take place from October 2022 to the end of June 2023 and is open to refugees and people from a refugee background in the UK who are motivated to start and run a successful social enterprise, charity or other not-for-profit organisation which benefits the community and/or the environment, in the UK or abroad. Participants will be given comprehensive support based around a series of workshops covering topics such as starting a business, crowdfunding and pitching as well as individual coaching sessions with experts. SEUK will be hosting a specialist workshop on building your contacts and networks to help participants The deadline to apply is 7pm on 21 September Click here to apply and find out more You can also hear from Ideas into Action participants themselves here.You can apply directly, online or via a word document, here. Most of the programme will be online but we hope to have a face-to-face start event, a face-to-face workshop in February 2023 and a face-to-face graduation event in June 2023. All these events will take place either in London or Manchester (you will be informed of the final location if you join the programme). Ideas into Action is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund

Norwich, Sheffield and Plymouth have been awarded formal accreditation as Social Enterprise Places by Social Enterprise UK for their commitment to developing and supporting social enterprises to thrive. Social Enterprise Places are hotspots of social enterprise activity where these businesses are collectively working to make their area a fairer, greener and more inclusive place to live and do businesses. Since being named the country’s first Social Enterprise City in 2013, Plymouth has seen millions of pounds worth of investment into the city’s social economy and is home to around 200 social enterprises which employ around 9,100 people and which bring in up to £580 million into the economy each year.[1] Norwich contains around 53 social enterprises with a combined turnover of £107 million employing 2,714 people and Sheffield is a city with long history of social enterprise activity with the region being home to 226 social enterprises operating in sectors ranging from tech and manufacturing to community farms, cafes, and even renewable energy projects. All three cities proved not only the progress they have already made on establishing themselves as hubs for social enterprise, but a commitment to build on their achievements. Each new accredited place had to set out a three-year plan for the future of social enterprise in their area. The plans contain a series of specific aims and ambitions to support and sustain the structure and function of the Social Enterprise Place as well as detailed plans and actions to boost each area’s social enterprise community. These plans range from creating programmes to grow markets for social enterprises through engaging with the wider private sector to working with universities to provide social enterprise education and putting on public facing awareness raising campaigns.  Commenting on the accreditation, Peter Holbrook Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK said: “Each of these three cities has a strong, dynamic social enterprise community. We heartily congratulate them on gaining accredited Social Enterprise Place status, showing their commitment to unlocking the potential of social enterprise. “Sheffield, Norwich and Plymouth are showing the difference social enterprises can make in local communities. As the cost-of-living crisis begins to bite and faced with the fallout of the pandemic now is the time to grow and invest in businesses which are reducing inequalities, creating jobs, and working to protect the environment. There can be no meaningful levelling-up without investment in social enterprise. “These cities are putting social enterprise at the heart of regional development and we look forward to seeing social enterprises continue to grow and flourish in these areas.” Find out more about Social Enterprise Places here [1] https://plymsocent.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Report-Final.pdf