Public Services (Social Enterprise and Social Value) Bill

John Hayes Excerpts

Friday 19th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

I do not suggest for a second that no private for-profit businesses have a social objective—a lot of for-profit companies do take that responsibility seriously—but I see the Bill as a way of encouraging organisations whose main purpose is to deliver services that could be delivered by the state for the community. To take the argument to an extreme, in my view it would be unusual—

[The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)]

rose—

[Mr Gyimah]

I will be with you in a second. [Laughter.] It would be unusual to see such a business grow to the extent that it gets listed on the stock exchange and rewards its shareholders. I give way to the Minister.

[Mr Hayes]

I am immensely grateful to my hon. Friend; I did not want to interrupt his flow.

My hon. Friend will be conscious that, just this week, we announced our national skills strategy, and in that we have protected adult and community learning. Indeed, we understand, as I hope he does, that charitable, voluntary, community groups will play a key role in helping us to reform and deliver precisely that sort of learning, which is very much in tune with what he is describing. I put that on the record, because I am here and because I wanted once again to advertise that strategy, which is available in the Vote Office for Members who want to see it.

[Mr Gyimah]

I thank the Minister for his patience and congratulate him on advertising a strategy that I wholeheartedly endorse.

If the Bill is to go ahead, we need to clarify the definition, because it sounds as though there is a lot of confusion. All of us want to support some business in our community that is well known and has been helping the boy scouts, for example, but we have to draw a distinction between that sort of business and one whose sole purpose is to deliver social goods.