音声ブラウザご使用の方向け: ナビメニューを飛ばして本文へ ナビメニューへ

国際セミナー「世界の障害者インクルージョン政策の動向」

話題提供1(原文)
Social firms and how they are viewed in the UK

Phillida Purvis

In spite of unparalleled economic growth and prosperity in the UK today, and decades of government initiatives to spread the benefit of it to more marginalised people, there remain in our society tranches of people who are as socially excluded and unable to access that prosperity as ever. It is hard for those people, mostly in our inner cities, to escape from what is a vicious cycle of poverty, break down in family life, rising levels of violent crime, truancy and domestic abuse. It is a challenge for all of us to find ways of healing what has come to be called our ‘broken society’. The government, and those who know about them, believe that social enterprises are an important tool for the work of building a more cohesive society where people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities can be secure in their lives.

The term ‘social enterprise’ has only been in use in Britain in the last 9 or 10 years. Some dynamic and entrepreneurial individuals began taking action to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged and difficult to reach communities, rather than sitting back and hoping the government or someone else would. The difference between these people and all the many voluntary activists before them is that they have the knack of ‘making something from nothing’ by activating what we call ‘social capital’ which they identify lying unused around them. In practice this means they negotiate the use of empty or derelict buildings, often in public ownership, and leverage funding streams, with government and other funders for new purposes. Most importantly, they identify and unearth the undiscovered skills of local people who have become trapped by poverty and deprivation, unemployment, welfare dependency, ill health and a lack of confidence. These highly imaginative individuals have come to be known as social entrepreneurs. All around our country they have started up new types of business that have at their heart a social purpose and they energize local people, some of whom are the most marginalised, to become involved in and, in many case, employed by the enterprise. Everyone involved in the voluntary and community sector or with community development recognizes the characteristics of these social enterprises and their potential of succeeding where government policy and welfare, and even many traditional charities have, ultimately, failed. They are successful precisely because they involve ordinary people in the community and engage their input as active citizens which enables them to take control of and thereby improve their own lives through a mechanism which is sustainable. The arrival of social enterprises on our social scene was timely in two ways ? first there was widespread understanding that other models of community development and methods of funding the most excluded communities were not alleviating deprivation, but rather were, in many cases, perpetuating dependency but second there was an unprecedented level of political will in Britain’s new government, with huge amounts of structural funding fortuitously being available, largely through the European Union, for new types of regeneration which helps to find local solutions to the most difficult local problems by empowering local people.

A recent survey has shown that 15,000 businesses in the UK trade with a social purpose.*1 For example, nearly half a million people are employed by social enterprises making up 1 in 50 of the private sector workforce. Social enterprises also contribute £18 billion annually to the UK economy. In comparison UK agriculture employs half a million people and contributes £6.6 billion to the economy.

Support for social enterprises is now at the heart of regeneration strategies all around the UK. Because they use business solutions to achieve public good, social enterprises have a valuable role to play in creating a ‘strong, sustainable and socially inclusive’ economy and they give support to social enterprises in many different ways. The Government is committed to creating an enabling environment for social enterprises, especially through coordination of government departments and policy. For example, the Department of Trade and Industry has established a social enterprise unit which launched a social enterprise strategy in 2002. This aims to make social enterprises better businesses, through training courses and making appropriate financing and funding more readily available. The UK government also highlights the value of social enterprises by establishing methods of assessing whether they ‘meet the bottom line’ financially and socially. In addition they raise awareness of social enterprises and celebrate and award success. These sorts of celebrations and publicity of stories of their achievement have played an important part in promoting the overall concept of what they do to the general public. In addition, a big effort is under way to make the potential of social enterprises understood by local authorities and to encourage their procurement officers to understand the social value of doing business with efficient social enterprises. Some social enterprises, like the Big Issue, are now widely known and this has made it easier to grasp their purpose but the great range of their work, and the variety of models has made it confusing for many people.

As to what social enterprises actually do, the same survey discovered that 33% are involved in health and social care, (such as care of old people, people with disability or childcare), 21% in other community, social or personal services, (such as environment groups, therapy groups, social clubs and performing art groups), 20% in real estate or renting, (the majority in letting the social enterprise’s own property, and providing business advice and support), 15% in education (IT and vocational skills training) and 3% in wholesale/retail business (cafe’s, community stores and charity shops). Social firms are most active in the service sector with typical areas being catering, gardening, printing, recycling, packing and storage work.

As we have heard, social firms are a particular category of social enterprise which exist to give employment to the most marginalised of all, those with disability or with some other extreme disadvantage. As a smaller subgroup, their distinctive nature is probably less well understood by the general public. However, since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination legislation there is much greater awareness of the rights of people with disability and an understanding of the importance of meaningful employment for all. I will quickly mention how social enterprises and social firms are supported in the UK. Social firms are supported by active regional networks and, at a national level, by Social Firms UK, representing those networks. Most government assistance for the sector is through business training and support. Financial support opportunities do exist but they are the same as for any SME, through Regional Venture Capital Funds, (risk capital finance), Early Growth Funds, Small Firms Loans Guarantees, Grants for Exploring Innovative Ideas and R& D grants. Specific government support to promote enterprise in disadvantaged communities and in groups under-represented in terms of business ownership is through the Phoenix Fund and is channelled through intermediaries like Social Firms UK. Social Firms UK, together with the representative organisations of other social enterprise models, sit on all committees that form and implement the UK Government’s social enterprise activities. These organizations have established the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) in 2004. SEC carries out a number of activities (i.e., conferences, annual awards, press work) to raise awareness for social enterprise, social firms participate in most of these activities. Non-lottery government financial support for the sector is mostly geared towards specific programmes or activities of intermediary network organisations, such as Social Firms UK, Social Enterprise London, The Community Action Network and the Social Enterprise Coalition.

Social enterprises, social firms or social entrepreneurs themselves can be financed in many different ways. There are start up grants from charitable foundations, government or European funds which include Awards for All, a lottery grants programme, aimed at local communities and the Big Lottery Fund the main national lottery funder. Grants have limitations in being short-term, tied to specific projects, rather restrictive and often paid in arrears but they can help cover costs while building up a revenue-generating activity. Rather more flexible financing can come in the form of debt or equity financing, as with all commercial enterprises. This can be provided by the high street banks or by one of a number of Social Banks - such as the Charity Bank Ltd, the Cooperative Bank, Triodos Bank and Unity Trust Bank. There is little supply of conventional venture capital because of the difficulty of providing a commercial financial return and ownership issues but there are some new social venture capital funds available, such as the Adventure Capital Fund and venture philanthropists who give grants but work with the organisation to make it more efficient and effective. Other specialist loanmaking organisations in the UK which focus on supporting social enterprises are the Cooperative Action Loan Fund, The Loans Programme of Esmee Fairbairn, one of the UK’ s biggest charities, the Industrial Common Ownership Finance (ICOF), Futurebuilders-a government fund aiming to strengthen the voluntary sector’s ability to deliver public services, the Local Investment Fund, the Venturesome Fund of the Charities Aid Foundation and many other regional and local finance providers.
Social enterprises can have different legal forms such as a company limited by guarantee, which is also a registered charity, a private or a public company limited by shares, an Industrial and Provident Society or a Community Interest Company, which is a new legal form introduced by the British government this summer precisely to raise awareness of the special features of social enterprises and to make them appealing for investors who are concerned more about socially responsible investments than traditional financial return on investments, as returns are capped. It is therefore its social purpose which defines a social enterprise, not its financial or legal form.
I hope this brief snapshot gives an idea about the scale of social enterprise in the UK, how they are established, what form they take, what activities they are involved in and how they are viewed. It is early days but it seems certain that social enterprise will have increasing importance in our national life and economy and one day will become a household expression.

*1 A Survey of Social Enterprises across the UK A report for the Small Business Council by IFF Research Ltd
http://www.sbs.gov.uk/SBS_Gov_files/press/PRE_SurveyofSEsacrossuk.pdf