Changes to the Small Business Rate Relief, additional funding for a rough sleeping social impact bond and 60m for community-led housing developments were among the key announcements relevant to the UK’s social enterprise sector in yesterday’s budget.
George Osborne announced that the government will permanently double Small Business Rate Relief from 50% to 100% and increase the thresholds to benefit a greater number of businesses.
Deputy CEO of Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) Nick Temple said in response: “Social enterprises will welcome many of the announcements aimed at helping small and medium sized businesses, whilst feeling that the Government still needs to pay more attention to delivering fairness and social justice… As announced in both the 2015 spending review and autumn statement, all energy generation activities will be excluded from the Enterprise Investment Scheme, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts from next month, as well as from Social Investment Tax Relief.
Co-CEO at Numbers for Good Dominic Llewellyn said: “It’s encouraging to see George Osborne double the size of the rough sleeping social impact bond fund which will provide crucial funding to organisations tackling homelessness to 10m.”
Temple commented: “The announcement of more money to tackle homelessness is welcome, but what is missing is the connection between policies and a focus on treating symptoms rather than tackling causes.”
The announcement that 60m will be provided to enable community-led housing developments in rural and coastal communities, including through Community Land Trusts, has been welcomed by Richard Harries from the Power to Change Research Institute, who writes in Pioneers Post today. And there’s cause for celebration among those charities working on obesity and poor-health among school-age children: the cash raised from the drinks industry will go to double the provision of sport in primary schools.”
Header photo credit: Kent Wang
From the vital role of community businesses to social investment, Richard Harries from the Power to Change Research Institute explains what he thinks the chancellor should have mentioned in yesterday’s budget.
Cuts to the Cabinet Office raise concerns about the future of the Ministry of Civil Society and 20m of support per year is allocated to social impact bonds following Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement in the UK.
The UK government has unveiled its 2016 social investment strategy in two new publications ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget announcement tomorrow. The government aims to ensure the UK remains a world leader in social investment.
