Social enterprises in potential cash boost

SOCIAL enterprises in Worcestershire could receive an £87m cash boost if the construction sector delivers on its commitment to the Social Value Act.

Melanie Mills, chief executive of Social Enterprise West Midlands, told a Social Value in Construction’ conference that contractors and commissioners are missing out on a supply chain that can offer competitive pricing, excellent service and innovative solutions.

“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 £87m for social enterprises,” said Mrs Mills. “I believe it should just be the start for this industry; it is already an early adopter and this can further help as it looks to embrace more ethically based businesses by giving organisations outside of its mainstream supply base the chance to tender for work.

“We have a significant number of social enterprises in Worcestershire 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.

More than 150 delegates attended the conference at Wolverhampton University, which also saw a series of best practice masterclass sessions delivered and a "meet the buyer exchange’ featuring leading construction companies Kier Construction, Balfour Beatty, Mears Group and Speller Metcalfe. The event was the first of its type 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, deputy vice chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton.

Former Labour minister Hazel Blears, co-author of the Social Value Act, which improves the way taxpayers' money is spent on public services, said: "We are challenging all construction firms and public organisations to go away and appoint at least one social enterprise contractor in the next six months. If they take this simple measure it will cause a positive groundswell of opinion in the sector and hopefully go some way to adding £87m to the social enterprise economy.”

-By Mike Pryce