Employee Ownership: Buckingham and Bletchley
(asked on 2nd March 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to further support employee ownership in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Employee-owned businesses are a significant part of the UK economy, with 2,470 EOBs in the UK as of June 2025, employing over 335,000 people.
DBT, as part of the Autumn Budget announcements, launched a Call for Evidence on Business Support for Co-operatives and Mutuals, which closed on the 18th February. DBT is now analysing responses and these will inform any potential business support policies to support the growth of the sector.
The government is committed to supporting the growth of the mutuals sector in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which government is now delivering.