Social economy gets £1.3m funding boost

The funding will be used to support the further development of the social economy in Wales. This will include creating more development trusts, more social firms and a community based loans facility for social enterprises.

Training, research and raising awareness of the scale and benefits of social enterprise will also receive support.

Four organisations that support the social economy across Wales will receive the funding over the next three years.

Wales already has well established social economy that includes a range of social enterprises, such as cooperatives, mutual groups and social firms that exist primarily for the benefit of the community and where their social or environmental purpose is central to what they do.

Social enterprises offer a huge range of services, operating in fields as diverse as childcare, arts centres, crime prevention, sustainable tourism, food production and food distribution, furniture recycling, the provision of housing, and health and social care.

Leighton Andrews said:

Great strides have been made in developing a vibrant social economy in Wales. Whether it is providing full time employment to people with disabilities or enhancing the local environment it is having a positive impact across the country.

We want to accelerate this progress. Supported by the funding I have announced today and working with social enterprise sector we can make sure that the social economy continues to develop for the good of society and the economy.

The four organisations receiving funding are the Robert Owen Community Banking Fund, the Wales Co-operative Centre, Social Firms Wales and the Development Trust Association Wales.

Notes to editors

• The Robert Owen Community Banking Fund will receive around £76,000 over the next three years to develop a small community development finance institution providing small loans to rural social enterprises in Powys.
• The Wales Co-operative Centre will receive funding of £510,000 over the next three years to develop co-operatives, credit unions and other mutual organisations in Wales. The work will include undertaking research into the sector, raising awareness of co-operatives and credit unions, training and helping social enterprises to increase their turnover.
• Social Firms Wales will receive £207,000 over the next three years to create two social change partnerships and to help the creation of five social firm businesses in Wales. Social firms are businesses set up to create good quality jobs for people disadvantaged in the labour market, for example disabled people. Social change partnerships bring together professionals from all sectors to work together to support people into work.
• The Development Trust Association Wales will receive funding of £505,000 over the next three years to assist with the creation and development of new and emerging local development trusts in Wales, identify and capture good practice to share across Wales and promote collaboration. Development Trusts are locally based organisations led by and accountable to the community which operate as social enterprises. They are involved in trading, supplying services and social enterprises to help regenerate local communities.

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/businessandeconomy/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/socialjustice/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/?lang=en