Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase co-operative and employee ownership of business.

The Government is committed to having a thriving co-operatives sector and creating a modern and supportive business environment in the UK. The Government acknowledges the vital contribution co-operatives make to the economy, serving local communities up and down the UK. For instance, the Co-op Economy Report 2021 conducted by the trade body Co-operatives UK found that co-operatives contributed £39.7 billion to the UK economy in 2021, up £1.1 billion from 2020.

At Budget 2021, the Government announced the £150m Community Ownership Fund. This allows community groups to bid for up to £250,000 matched-funding to help them buy or take over local community assets at risk of being lost and run them as community-owned businesses, supporting co-operative entrepreneurship. To date, 71 projects across the UK have benefitted from the fund.

Most recently, the Government is supporting a Private Members' Bill on Co-operatives, Mutual Insurers, and Friendly Societies, which will grant HM Treasury the power to bring forward regulations to give those mutuals further flexibility in determining for themselves the best strategies for their business regarding their surplus capital.

Furthermore, the Government also aims to continue to develop a modern and supportive business environment to set co-operatives and mutuals up for success. As part of this, the Government is currently exploring options for reviewing key pieces of legislation underpinning the co-operatives and mutuals sectors.