Government are committed to creating an environment in which all social enterprises, including those providing services to vulnerable groups, can thrive. The social enterprise action plan, published in November 2006, sets out cross-departmental commitment to actions which aim to foster a culture of social enterprise; ensure the right information and advice is available to those running social enterprises; enable social enterprises to access appropriate finance; and enable social enterprise to work with government.
As part of this action plan, the Office of the Third Sector, within the Cabinet Office, provides core funding to umbrella organisations which support and represent social enterprise at a national level. Included among these is Social Firms UK which offers support to social enterprises which provide employment to disadvantaged groups.
The joint Cabinet Office and HM Treasury report on the Future Role of the Third Sector in Social and Economic Regeneration, published in July 2007 also sets out the commitments of the Cabinet Office in supporting the third sector as a whole.
Both of the social enterprise action plan and the report on the future role of the third sector are available in the Library of the house.