The Public Services (Social Enterprise and Social Value) Bill goes to the report stage in the House of Commons on Thursday 25 November. We found useful an analysis of the bill by Third Sector Research Centre.

The paper notes that the bill shows clearly that the government wants the state to withdraw from many of the activities it is currently engaged in.

But the government’s aims to promote local control over what services are provided has to duke it out with the need for central government legislation to promote voluntary and community organisations, which will anyway be unable to compete as large private contractors take over public services, as has happened with the work programme. The self‐help and local distinctiveness that some tories want to see will disappear.

The references to social enterprise have been taken out of the bill – NCIA is not alone in noticing that the concept is so contested and ill-defined as to be meaningless.

Read the paper here: http://www.social-policy.org.uk/lincoln2011/Alcock%20and%20Teasdale%20P3%20.pdf