Tuesday, 5 May 2015

£87 million boost available for Shropshire social enterprises



Social enterprises in Shropshire could potentially benefit from an £87m cash boost by working in partnership with the construction sector.
That was the message from a conference titled Social Value in Construction, which also included a series of masterclasses and meet the buyer sessions involving Kier, Balfour Beatty, Mears Group and Speller Metcalfe.
More than 150 delegates attended the event, and heard from Melanie Mills, chief executive of Social Enterprise West Midlands CIC, who said contractors and commissioners are missing out on a strong supply chain in the social sector.
And she said that unlocking a proportion of the construction industry’s spending and focusing it on social enterprises could have a huge impact on the sector, including in the local area.
“Construction in the West Midlands alone is worth an estimated £8.7bn so if we can leverage just one per cent of spend it could be worth up to £87 million for social enterprises,” Ms Mills said.
“I believe it should just be the start for this industry; it is already an early adopter and this can further help as they look to embrace more ethically based businesses by giving organisations outside of its mainstream supply base the chance to tender for work.”
She added: “We have a significant number of social enterprises in Shropshire offering trade skills that can help fill the recognised construction skills gap, but it doesn’t need to end there.
“The offer could include wellbeing specialists, catering firms, landscaping or even providing the marketing collateral for major projects.
“There is a definite commitment from the wider construction sector to be involved in developing sustainable legacies in the communities in which they operate as part of their corporate social responsibility delivery.”
The Social Value in Construction event was the first of its type held in the UK and attracted a number of keynote speakers including Alan Smith (Kier Group), Tom MacDonald (West Midlands Construction UTC) and Professor Ian Oakes, who combines his role as deputy vice chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton with being a board member of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
- Shropshire Star


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