Social Enterprise

COVID-19: Scottish Government Support for Businesses

Scottish Government has launched a helpline providing businesses (including social enterprises) across Scotland with advice and guidance on COVID-19. The helpline will also help identify the current challenges facing businesses.

The helpline is open Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 5:30pm on: 0300 303 0660. Callers should select option one to speak to the COVID-19 team.

On Monday 16^th March, Scottish Government also announced a £320 million support package to limit the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Scotland (which includes small, local business and social enterprises) during the 2020-21 financial year, including:

a 75% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a rateable value of less than £69,000 from Wednesday 1^st April
an £80 million fund to provide grants of at least £3,000 to small businesses in sectors facing the worst economic impact of COVID-19
1.6% rates relief for all properties across Scotland, aiming to reverse the planned below inflation uplift in the poundage, from Wednesday 1^st April
a fixed rates relief of up to £5,000 for all pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000, again from Wednesday 1^st April

The Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes, will also write to all local authorities, urging them to respond positively to requests from rate payers for payment deferrals for a fixed period.

For further information, please visit the Scottish Government website.

Social Enterprises are businesses that seek to address social and environmental issues through reinvesting all their profits from trading.

This more-than-profit approach is gaining momentum and is already used by co-operatives, credit unions, development trusts and housing associations.

CVS Falkirk promotes social enterprise as a model of doing business. We work with existing social enterprises, and encourage individuals and organisations to be more socially enterprising, through a range of services, including (but not limited to):

Start up guidance
Business idea development
Business planning
Identifying funders
Partnership working
Legal and compliance issues
Measuring social impact
Tendering and procurement

National Signposting

We help with links to national social enterprise support bodies and funders, and constantly horizon-scan for new developments that we can highlight to social enterprises.

Local Opportunities

We have a variety of local support options for social enterprises in Falkirk, who are familiar with the social enterprise model and can offer guidance on different subjects.

To find out more about the ways CVS Falkirk work with social enterprises, please contact us.

The Voluntary Code of Practice for Social Enterprise in Scotland

“The Code”, as it is known, was developed by the Scottish social enterprise community in response to the UK-wide debate around a definition of what a social enterprise is. Many in the Scottish social enterprise community felt that the debate was blurring the lines between genuine social enterprises and private businesses delivering social benefits for private profit. The Code highlights a set of shared values and behaviours, and provides the foundation for a self-regulatory community of mutual understanding.

Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy

Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026 is a 10 year national social enterprise strategy, which sets out the Scottish Government’s shared ambitions for social enterprise in Scotland, jointly developed with the sector. It provides a framework for action over the next decade.

Social Enterprise in Scotland Census

The first social enterprise in Scotland census, carried out in 2015, outlines the scale and impact of the social enterprise sector in Scotland. The census revealed a growing, vibrant and diverse sector, which subsequent reports in 2017 and 2019 have proved to be a continuing trend.

For further information on all social enterprises censuses, including infographics and download links, visit the Scottish Social Enterprise Census page.