There are more than 55,000 social enterprises in the UK. These are businesses with primarily social or environmental objectives, principally reinvesting surpluses in the business or community. This action plan sets out a vision for creating the conditions for thousands more to thrive.The major challenge for social enterprise businesses is to deliver public services in a different way, using the skills and expertise of users and frontline workers. In meeting this challenge they also contribute by bringing back into the economy people who were previously excluded, or by improving the environment or society. The businesses are diverse, ranging from small, community-owned village shops to large companies winning multimillion pound contracts. They are generating more than 27 billion pounds turnover and contributing more than 8 billion pounds to GDP a year.
LEGALISING GRAFFITI COULD CUT VANDALISM SAYS SURVEY
Legalising graffiti would reduce vandalism, according to the results of a new survey on the use of community art projects and murals as a means of controlling graffiti. The study was conducted by GraffitiHotline, which asked for responses from local council graffiti officers, councillors, community police officers and residents’ groups as well as public art project co-ordinators.
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REGENERATION SCHEMES SCOOP DESIGN AWARDS
Two regeneration schemes in cities in the north of England have won prestigious design awards. The Kings Waterfront development in Liverpool City Centre has received a national ‘Green Apple’ environmental award and Sheffield City Council has been awarded a prize for design excellence for its scheme to link the city centre and the railway station.