
Next in our series of ebriefings on the Government’s Green Paper: Transforming public procurement; looking at the Chapter 4 proposal to change the basis of contract awards.
We welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to doubling the size of the co-operative economy. We wholeheartedly support the ambition to grow this vitally important part of the economy.
But we want to do it in a way that doesn’t just develop an alternative co-operative economy, but helps to transform business more broadly; which helps people to understand how business can be good for everyone and contribute to the common good. Business needs to benefit the many people who are affected by its activities – as workers, customers, suppliers and neighbours; not just the few who are its owners.
In the modern world, to an increasing extent businesses have become more significant than national governments in terms of impact on the lives of citizens. It is not just the size of turn-over of the world’s biggest businesses which increasingly dwarfs national budgets;
This ever-growing power of businesses would not be of particular concern to us if it was held and used for the benefit of human beings as a whole. But it isn’t. Most of the power of businesses is held by and accountable to private interests which have no absolute moral or legal responsibility beyond themselves. Consequently, the optimisation of profitability and economic growth for their own benefit outweighs any broader concerns about human well-being and happiness, climate change, and future generations.
One of humanity’s highest priorities today is for business to be transformed from operating for the private benefit of investors to operating for the common good of all.
Cooperatives can play an important part in that transformation.
For this to happen, three fundamental things are needed.
As a first step to reinforce its long-term commitment to the cooperative movement, we ask Labour to make a manifesto commitment on taking power to carry out a review of the law and policy framework for all enterprise for the common good with a view to transferring departmental responsibility for cooperatives and community benefit societies (all societies registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014) from HM Treasury to the Business Department, and for BEIS to assume responsibility for other third sector businesses currently under the responsibility of the Office for Civil Society within DCMS.
We recognise that securing formal and public recognition of the contribution which cooperatives make is a longer process. Some insight into a mechanism for this, through collaborative working between government, trade unions and employers’ organisations, can be gained from ILO recommendation 193 which supports the promotion of cooperatives based on the ICA principles, and creating a supportive environment for cooperatives to secure the many social and economic advantages which they bring.
Establishing a review of the laws of registration for cooperatives needs to follow on from the relocation of departmental responsibilities, so that such a review can be launched on a proper basis where cooperatives are formally located within the mainstream of UK business, and recognised for their contribution to the common good.
Please contact David Alcock or Cliff Mills.
Next in our series of ebriefings on the Government’s Green Paper: Transforming public procurement; looking at the Chapter 4 proposal to change the basis of contract awards.
The Academies Financial Handbook is updated annually by the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency; it contains a number of governance requirements for academy trusts.
Supreme Court publishes key decision for those working in the UK’s gig economy.
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The Building Safety Bill (the Bill) is said to be the most significant and wide-ranging change to the regulatory environment for higher risk building (HRBs) for over 45 years.
On 4 November 2020, the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) came into force; exit payments for the public sector were capped at £95,000.
The case was brought by the Official Receiver who sought disqualification orders under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA 1986) against the seven trustees of Kids Company and its CEO. It illustrates well the tension between the role of a fulltime paid CEO of a large charity and the role of its board as voluntary trustees/directors.
At the end of 2020, The Charity Governance Code was updated or 'refreshed' as it is termed on its website.
Anthony Collins Solicitors is today (Thursday 11 February) revealing the scale of its social impact during 2020.
In their first podcast of this series, current and future trainees will discuss their journey and route to securing a training contract at Anthony Collins Solicitors.
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