Social Firms UK

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.

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 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.

Following the publication of its Green Paper on Welfare Reform “In Work, Better Off” DWP has been drawing up a strategy on how it will commission employment support programmes. It favours moving towards a position where it has large contracts with a small number of prime contractors. They in turn will subcontract with smaller or more specialist providers. In its response, Social Firms UK highlights the role that Social Firms play in providing employment and employment support for people furthest from the open labour market and flags up the need to support job creation as well as employment support. We include a proposal aimed at helping the Social Firm sector to grow and highlight ways in which the needs of Social Firms should be taken into account in any future contracting arrangements.