Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) community based businesses, (b) social enterprises and (c) trading charities in contributing to growth in the local economy.

The Government strongly supports the social enterprise sector’s contribution to society and the economy.

Social enterprises create jobs for those excluded from the labour market, directly address social challenges and build social capital within communities.

Policy relating to social enterprise is devolved. In England the government will continue to support the sector through access to finance including social investment, growing participation in public services and effective regulation.

Work is also underway to meet the commitments made in the Levelling Up White Paper around:

• encouraging social organisations and entrepreneurship to flourish in left-behind places and generating evidence on what works;

• building on and augmenting existing support for the sector;

• encouraging the next generation of social entrepreneurs.