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The following are examples of responses, recommendations etc. to government by Social Firms UK in the past:

Response To New Developments In Government Support For Skills Training And Benefits (3 December 07) The government’s latest policy announcement, “Opportunity, Employment And Progression: Making Skills Work” heralds a new range of steps aimed at enabling people to get into work and then to develop their skills at work. Changes are to be made to rules on incapacity benefit and eligibility for Pathways to Work, and the “Train to Gain” funding available for employers is to be extended. Full details have yet to be announced, but highlights include:

* for employers, funding for “Train to Gain” will be expanded from £440m to £1.1m by 2010, it will be made more flexible and extended to the voluntary sector, and will also be available for training by employers making pre-release job offers to offenders; * a legal right for adults to training for basic and intermediate skills and qualifications will be set out in the Education and Skills Bill, which is scheduled for debate in this parliamentary session; * a commitment to ensure that people on incapacity benefits are better off in work even after reasonable transport costs; * mandatory “skills health check” for people entering and remaining on Employment and Support Allowance (the allowance being introduced from October 2008 for people who would have previously been eligible for incapacity benefit); * a commitment to test out improved support for people with mental health problems seeking work; * opening eligibility for Pathways to Work to people under 25; * removing the “16 hour rule” in Housing Benefit for short term recipients of incapacity benefit; * targeting public investment in the Foundation Learning Tier, Skills for Life (Literacy, numeracy and ESL) and Level 2 training provision on people on benefits or seeking work; * new “Skills Accounts” will be available to people in or out of work, offering a “virtual voucher of state funding” to purchase relevant learning at an accredited, quality assured provider of their choice; * a range of support for lone parents.

Read the whole document (30 pages) at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/making-skills-work.pdf

Response To Government Consultation Paper, 'In Work Better Off' (October 2007) The government recently brought out a consultation paper called 'In Work Better Off'. The paper sets out that the Government’s aim is to reduce the number of people on Incapacity Benefit by 1million, enable 300,000 more lone parents to get work and increase the employment rate of older people by 1 million. The consultation focuses on employment support.

From Social Firms UK’s point of view, these proposals are limited in that they focus primarily on supporting people to find jobs in the open labour market, through advice, skills training and the use of incentives. However, Social Firms UK sent a response to the DWP in October 2007 that highlights what Social Firms are all about and offers ideas on changes that could be made and how Social Firms UK could play a positive role in this.

Position Statement On Welfare Reform, The David Freud Paper & The Social Firm Sector (May 2007) Social Firms UK and Social Firms Scotland have presented to the government, a position statement on welfare reform, the David Freud paper and the Social Firm sector. The statement requests that social enterprise be one of the solutions the government adopts to help those furthest from the labour market into work.

Response By Social Firms UK To The DWP's Welfare Reform Seminar (March 2007) This document shows the response by Sally Reynolds of Social Firms UK to the high profile seminar on Welfare Reform held in London on 26 March 2007.  

In Business For Good: The Social Firm Solution To Employability (December 2006) This report, produced in December 2006, calls for support to grow the Social Firm sector to create more jobs for people who do not get an opportunity to work in mainstream employment. It is hoped that this document will be widely used to influence policy and persuade others to use Social Firms as a solution to the employability needs of disadvantaged people.

Social Firms UK Response To The Comprehensive Spending Review Consultation On The Future Role Of The Third Sector In Social And Economic Regeneration (11 October 2006) In this paper, Sally Reynolds, Chief Executive of Social Firms UK outlines the issues faced by the Social Firm sector and recommends solutions.

Social Firms UK's & Social Firms Scotland's Responses To The Welfare Reform Green Paper (April 2006) In April 2006, Social Firms UK and Social Firms Scotland sent responses to the Welfare Reform Green Paper to the Department of Work & Pensions. The paper, entitled 'A new deal for welfare: empowering people to work' was launched for consultation on 24th January 2006. It contained major new proposals to help individuals achieve their potential through work and presents significant opportunity for Social Firms and social enterprise.

Instances Of Social Firms Being Mentioned In Government Publications A profile of Social Firms was included in a recent Treasury report called, "The Future Role Of The Third Sector In Social & Economic Regeneration: Final Report".