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Co-operatives Unleashed – Toolkit Policy

  • 3rd May 2023

Cooperatives Unleashed – Toolkit Policy

Drivers for co-operative development include new legislation, fiscal changes and public awareness. These all contribute to an ever-changing policy environment that can provide opportunities for new and different co-operative businesses and for council policy to support it.

Below, you will find case studies for a variety of policy drivers to aid councils in creating a conducive culture for delivering growth in the co-operative economy.

  • Publish a corporate commitment to support growth of the co-operative economy
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  • Publish a strategic action plan to create an Ambassador programme across the Council
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  • Ensure that social value policy and delivery incorporate incentives to encourage buying from community-owned businesses.

Policy Drivers

We have identified numerous policy drivers for councils to set up or spin out new companies where co-operative models provide solutions to policy challenges. A summary and illustrative case study is provided.  These include filling procurement gaps, pooling resources to increase equality of provision, managing community assets, spinning out profitable services, addressing wicked problems with multiple stakeholders and getting a community to collaborate to provide a service or goods locally.

  • Procurement Gaps

Community wealth building includes the principle of addressing weaknesses in the supply chains of anchor institutions, with worker co-operatives that are based in deprived neighbourhoods.

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  • Inconsistency of Income Streams

In a group or community, inequality is overcome by pooling resources to buy or access goods or services.

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  • Community Asset Management

The assets most likely to be taken over by local communities are community centres (56% of local authorities surveyed had transferred management), public green spaces (49%), sports facilities (35%) and libraries (28%).

  • Council Service Creates a Surplus

Non-statutory services run by councils can become profitable as markets and technology change. Under s.93 of the Local Government Act 2003, charging powers changed and the council could either deliver at cost, or spin out the service as a new company. The Localism Act 2011 expanded on this by requiring that profitable activity be conducted through a separately constituted company.

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  • Wicked Problems

Many of the challenges addressed by councils have complex interdependencies, where the effort to solve one aspect of a problem may reveal or create other problems, making it helpful for multiple stakeholders to work together in a democratic structure.

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  • Increased Community Demand

Individuals or organisations collaborate to access a service, asset or goods where demand across the community makes the service viable.

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  • Spin Out of a Public Service Mutual

Where staff are keen to deliver their public services and grow their positive social impact, Mutuals have a significant degree of employee ownership, influence or control in the way the organisation is run.

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  • Short Term Funding Gap

Where a business is likely to be viable in the long term but funding is required at the start, the council can support with loans, grants and the purchase of shares. This helps to overcome difficulties of persuading high street lenders of viability and track record. It can also be used to encourage the community to invest.

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  • Growing Co-operatives – Relocation

Co-operatives grow in several ways – including turnover, employment, membership and impact.

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  • Growing Co-operatives – Expansion

The role of economic development service in councils is to grow the local economy – bringing more and better jobs, and prosperity to the area. Co-operatives can add value by retaining a higher proportion of that growth in the local economy, through wages, profit distribution and support for community initiatives.

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