BERR’s recommendations, published in the report Enterprise: unlocking the UK’s talent, set out how the government will encourage the start-up and growth of small and medium-sized businesses. However, the Social Enterprise Coalition’s chief executive Jonathan Bland said that the strategy plan contained no concrete commitments to social entrepreneurs on the ground “over and above what has already been announced a number of times before”.

Bland said: “If this government is serious about its commitment to enterprise, its commitment to help the most vulnerable in our society and its commitment to the environment, then it needs to take a serious approach to supporting social enterprises – which deliver all three at once. And we do not feel that this strategy delivers what social enterprises need.”

He continued: “We welcome the recognition of social enterprise within the enterprise framework, but we are disappointed that there is not a greater commitment for the Regional Development Agencies to support the development of this new way of doing business. We want to see actions that really make a difference to the entrepreneurs who are trying to establish social enterprises to create jobs and anchor wealth locally. We also want the government to take a real look at tax breaks and incentives for social enterprises.”

To read the full report, visit www.berr.gov.uk