What is Social Enterprise ?
Social enterprises are businesses that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, or the environment. They make their money from selling goods and services in the open market, but they reinvest their profits back into the business or the local community.
The Big Issue, the Eden Project and Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen are examples of social enterprises. So are award-winners Divine Chocolate, a fair trade chocolate company co-owned by the cocoa farmers cooperative Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana and Timewise, which connects professionals with flexible employment opportunities.
http://www.socialenterprisescotland.org.uk/
Social Enterprise Scotland is an independent, Scottish, membership-led organisation, built and controlled by social enterprises. We’re the first point of contact for the media and public and promote a positive vision for social enterprise. Membership is open to anyone.
Social enterprises operate in a range of industries – Cafe direct is the UK’s largest FAIRTRADE hot drinks company; The Elvis & Kresse Organisation (EaKo) takes industrial waste materials, turns them into stylish luggage and hand bags and donates 50% of the profits to the Fire Fighters Charity; Hill Holt Wood educates at-risk youth in an ancient woodland; Central Surrey Health is a pioneering social enterprise in the healthcare world that is run by the nursing and therapy teams it employs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_enterprise here is the link to about Social Enterprise.
Current government polices
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-investment-roadmap
Other party polices.
“Many public service sectors are now dominated by the same big companies. We want to make it easier for not-for-profit, community-focused organisations to win Government contracts. And to help drive this, a Labour Government in 2015 will enable departments to offer some contracts exclusively for organisations ‘in the pursuit of a public service mission’.”
How to set up a social enterprise
Business gateway is a great way to get help to set up http://www.bgateway.com/business-guides/first-steps/starting-up-a-business/starting-a-social-enterprise/
My Blogg 