Social Enterprises and Community Ownership

Julie Minns Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jo Platt]

My hon. Friend is a great advocate for the co-operative movement, whose birthplace is in his constituency. I absolutely agree with him—there is more the Government can do to support co-operatives in all sectors.

Today, the co-operative spirit is alive and well in my constituency. In towns like mine, such organisations are not simply community projects, but are becoming local economic anchors. Let me give the House a few examples. For Tyldesley is a community-led initiative that is revitalising the town through heritage restoration and community activities. In the same town, the Pelican Centre was one of the first swimming pools in the country to become community owned, and it is still thriving 14 years later. The Snug in Atherton, led by grassroots champion Rachael McEntee and supported by the Music Venue Trust, is helping to build a vibrant local cultural scene. Leigh Works is creating space for small businesses and digital innovation to flourish, while inspiring the next generation of local talent.

In a speech about community ownership, I could not afford to leave out Leigh Spinners Mill. I declare an interest: I used to manage that facility. It was once a disused red-brick giant of our industrial past, and it is now a thriving centre of creativity and enterprise, providing space for community organisations and local businesses. These are not isolated stories; they are part of a growing national movement.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

I would like to add one further example from my constituency. The Rebuild Site, a social enterprise, has identified that in the construction industry a large amount of waste goes to landfill and contributes hugely to our carbon dioxide emissions. It offers a service to developers whereby at the end of a job, it takes the surplus waste back to its warehouse, sells it and donates the money to community projects. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need more examples like the Rebuild Site across the country to engender genuine pride in our towns and cities?

[Jo Platt]

That is exactly what this debate is about: hearing about initiatives that are thriving all over the country, bringing them together, and creating the support that those organisations need. I will definitely take that forward to see whether there is anything that we can do in our local area.

Across the UK there are about 131,000 social enterprises—roughly one in every 42 businesses. Together, they contribute about 3.4% of GDP, employ more than 2.3 million people, and reinvest more than £1 billion each year in social and environmental causes. Community businesses alone number around 11,000, generating nearly £1 billion in income. Crucially, for every pound spent with a community business, about 56p stays in our local economies. Almost half operate in the most deprived communities—proof that this model thrives precisely where it is needed most. If we want inclusive, place-based growth, supporting social enterprises and community ownership must be part of our economic strategy.

Too often the system simply is not designed for such organisations. Right now in my constituency the Pete Shelley memorial campaign, a brilliant group organising festivals that showcase incredible local artists, is working to become a social enterprise so that it can reinvest profits into helping young people access opportunities in the creative industries. But like many groups across the country, it faces real challenges in balancing its social impact with financial sustainability, navigating complex legal structures and accessing the patient capital that such models require. Without the right support, we risk losing extraordinary local potential.

I want to recognise the progress that this Labour Government have already made. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill introduces a landmark community right to buy, giving local people the opportunity to protect and take ownership of the spaces that matter to them most. Programmes such as Pride in Place and wider investment in town regeneration are already helping communities begin to rebuild. If we want those models to move from the margins to the mainstream, we must match community ambition with political ambition. Communities need three things to make the model succeed: first, access to patient and flexible finance; secondly, procurement systems that value social impact, not simply the lowest price; and thirdly, proper business support so that local people with great ideas are not left to navigate the system alone.

We should also continue strengthening organisations such as Locality, the Co-operative Development Unit, and Social Enterprise UK, whose expertise already helps communities turn ideas into thriving enterprises. I care deeply about this because I have seen the difference that it makes. During my time managing Leigh Spinners, I saw at first hand what happens when local people are given the space and power to shape their community’s future. I have seen with my own eyes the transformational power of national investment in community ownership. Thanks to the previous Government’s community ownership fund, places like Leigh Spinners Mill were able to step in, secure valuable spaces for working people, and turn the threat of loss into a hub of thriving businesses. When people have ownership, they have hope; when people have a stake, they have a voice. Ownership changes outcomes, and towns like mine have the talent, the ideas and the community spirit to thrive.

The Government’s industrial strategy rightly talks about driving growth across the country, but too often that growth has yet to reach towns like mine, where the backbone of the economy is not large corporations but small, locally rooted businesses. That is where social enterprise and community ownership come in: keeping wealth local, creating jobs locally, and ensuring that growth is rooted in the places that need it most. The question for the Government is simple: will we back the communities that have always built their own futures? If we do, we will build not only businesses, but stronger, fairer and more resilient communities. That is the future our towns deserve.