This year’s Mutuals’ Forum will be held on Thursday, November 4 at the British Library Conference Centre.

The Forum is an opportunity to join other mutual organisations for interactive and informative discussions on the future of mutuality and to listen to keynote speakers outline their views on the future of the sector.

As the the new Government seeks to live up to its commitment to promote diverse ownership in business and at a time of unprecedented economic challenge for mutuals, the Mutuals’ Forum 2010 will examine what the Government can do for mutuals, and what mutuals must do for themselves.

Delegates will have the opportunity to network with other leaders in the mutual sector and to share best practice with colleagues through break-out sessions on subjects as varied as health, regulation and mutual capital in the UK.

Click here to find out more or to register online.

The Commission on Ownership will produce an authoritative report that establishes a new and clear understanding of the influence that ownership has on the governance of our country.

The key questions for the Commission are:

- Does ownership matter?
- Does ownership affect fairness in Britain?
- What, if anything should Government do about ownership?

The Commission on Ownership will look at all of these questions and make recommendations for a better understanding of the Government’s responsibility on ensuring diverse and fair ownership in Britain.

To find out more, please visit http://ownershipcomm.org/

The Coalition’s Programme for Government calls for a move away from big government; a redistribution of power away from the centre; and help for people to come together, empowering citizens to work together within communities to create a Big Society. It is our argument that mutual and co-operative ideas have a major part to play in delivering this vision.”

Follow the link below to read this document in full.

From Public to Mutual Services

Mutuals will empower public sector - Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, Guardian, 12 August 2010

Co-operatives boost turnover by 16% - Press Association 28 June 2010

£5m to foster co-op movement in Wales - Wales Online 28 June 2010

Co-op pays out record divi of £50m - Independent 17 June 2010

MSPs debate Robert Owen banknotes call - BBC News 3 June 2010

Residents to help run Lambeth as ‘John Lewis council’ - Council tax rebates possible reward for citizens who help - Guardian 26 May 2010

Why co-operatives are cool again – Guardian 13 May 2010

Northern Rock ’should become a mutual’ - Times 5 May 2010

Neville Richardson: A merger of mutuals in interesting times – Independent 26 April 2010

Peter Hunt on BBC Today programme at 6.52 15 December 2009

Labour to run rule over mutual model - Guardian 15 December 2009

Why Mutualism is the way forward for public services - Guardian 15 December 2009

Mary Riddell Column - Daily Telegraph 15 December 2009

Government to establish public service mutuals - Guardian 12 November 2009

Daily Telegraph 12 November 2009

Government considers remutualising Northern Rock - Guardian 4 October 2009

Rock ‘should not be sold’ - Times 27 September 2009

Government urged to mutualise Northern Rock - Financial Times 27 September 2009

Influential report calls for Northern Rock to be remutualised - Observer 26 September 2009

‘Consumer confidence in mutuals still high’ - Microsoft Business 29 May 2009

‘Britannia votes to merge with Co-operative Financial Services’- Financial Times 29 April 2009

‘A mutual desire to be at the centre of banking’ - Neville Richardson interview in The Observer 5 April 2009

‘Banker coins in success amid misfortunes of bigger rivals’ - The Scotsman 9 March 2009

- ‘Co-op acquires Somerfield’ (Peter Marks interview) - The Guardian 6 March 2009

‘This is the dawning of the age of the mutual’ - The Times 3 March 2009

‘Savers open 1 million new building society accounts’ - Daily Telegraph 3 March 2009

‘Britannia and Co-op merger to create super-mutual’ - Daily Telegraph 21 January 2009

For the first time, the values of mutualism feature strongly in the three manifestos and specific policy pledges have been made that could help to develop mutuals. In alphabetical order, the summary response is below:

Conservative Party

The main narrative of the Conservative manifesto is one of ‘an invitation to join the Government of Britain’ through the creation of a participatory ‘big society’ that encourages citizen involvement and empowerment. This theme of self-help runs through the whole document, with proposals to give more say to citizens and increasing their opportunities for engagement with decision making.

Public Services & Employee ownership
In a section called ‘Reform public services to deliver better value,’ the manifesto includes proposals to give public sector workers ownership of the services they deliver through employee-led firms.
‘Giving public sector workers ownership of the services they deliver is a powerful way to drive efficiency, so we will support co-operatives and mutualisation as a way of transferring public assets and revenue streams to public sector workers. We will encourage them to come together to form employee-led co-operatives and bid to take over the services they run. This will empower millions of public sector workers to become their own boss and help them to deliver better services – the most significant shift in power from the state to working people since the sale of council houses in the 1980s.’

Child Trust Funds
The Conservatives have pledged to scrap CTFs for ‘all but the poorest third of families and families with disabled children.’

Financial Services Authority
‘A Conservative government will promote responsible consumer finance by creating a powerful Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) to take over the Financial Services Authority’s consumer protection role.’

‘We will abolish Gordon Brown’s failed tripartite system of regulation and put the Bank of England in charge of prudential supervision. We will restore the Bank’s historic role in monitoring the overall growth of credit and debt in the economy. In addition, we will:
• pursue international agreement to prevent retail banks from engaging in activities, such as large-scale proprietary trading, that put the stability of the system at risk;
• empower the Bank of England to crack down on risky bonus arrangements;
• increase competition in the banking industry, starting with a study of competition in the sector to inform our strategy for selling the government’s stakes in the banks; and,
• as the government comes to sell off its holdings in the banks, offer a ‘people’s bank bonus’, so that everybody in the country has the chance to buy a stake in the state-owned banks.’

NHS Foundation Trusts
‘We will set NHS providers free to innovate by ensuring that they become autonomous Foundation Trusts.’

Education
‘Drawing on the experience of the Swedish school reforms and the charter school movement in the United States, we will break down barriers to entry so that any good education provider can set up a new Academy school.
• give parents the power to save local schools threatened by closure, allowing communities the chance to take over and run good small schools’

Community Ownership & Football Supporter Trusts
‘Nothing underlines the powerlessness that many communities feel more than the loss of essential services, like post offices and pubs, because of decisions made by distant bureaucrats. Our new ‘community right to buy’ scheme will give local people the power to protect any community assets that are threatened with closure.

In addition, we will:
• give people a ‘right to bid’ to run any community service instead of the state; and,
• reform the governance arrangements in football to enable co-operative ownership models to be established by supporters.’

Labour Party

The Labour Party narrative also speaks of the role that mutuals can play in public services, ‘above all we will build public services that are more personal to people’s needs: with clear guarantees about standards…and with new ways of organising services such as mutuals.’

Building Societies, Banking & Northern Rock
We will ensure greater competition in the banking sector, breaking up those banks in which the Government currently has a controlling stake.

The proposed Office of Fair Trading review into how City markets operate is welcome.
We value the role of building societies owned by their customers and the strength and diversity that a healthy mutual sector brings to our financial services, and we will consult on measures to help strengthen the sector.

As one option for the disposal of Northern Rock, we will encourage a mutual solution, while ensuring that the sale generates maximum value for money for the taxpayer.’

Employee Ownership
It goes on to pledge support for more employee ownership in a section called ‘Creating a shareholding society,’ it says ‘We want Britain’s workers to have a stake in their company by widening share ownership and creating more employee owned and trust-owned businesses. We want to see a step change in the role of employee-owned companies in the economy, recognising that many entrepreneurs would like to see their companies in the hands of their employees when they retire. We will review any outstanding barriers to the formation of more employee companies like the John Lewis Partnership.’

Child Trust Funds
‘For the next generation we will protect – not cut – the Child Trust Fund – the world’s first universal savings policy for young people, already giving 4.8 million children a nest egg for the future. We will contribute an additional £100 a year to the Child Trust Funds of all disabled children.’

Sure Start
We want to strengthen parental engagement with Sure Start Children’s Centres. Some voluntary and third-sector organisations already run networks of Centres, and we will now pioneer mutual federations running groups of local Children’s Centres in the community interest.

Schools
‘We are pioneering new co-operative trust schools where parents, teachers and the local community come together to help govern their local school.’

NHS Foundation Trusts
‘We will continue to press ahead with bold NHS reforms. All hospitals will become Foundation Trusts, with successful FTs given the support and incentives to take over those that are underperforming.
Failing hospitals will have their management replaced. Foundation Trusts will be given the freedom to expand their provision into primary and community care, and to increase their private services – where these are consistent with NHS values, and provided they generate surpluses that are invested directly into the NHS.

To strengthen local accountability, we will increase the membership of Foundation Trusts to over three million by the end of the next Parliament.’

Empowering NHS staff and enabling mutuals

‘Central to our agenda for improvement is the hardworking NHS workforce. We will continue the process of empowering staff – freeing them from bureaucracy and ensuring they get proper support.
We will expand the role of NHS nurses, particularly in primary care, in line with the best clinical evidence. And across the NHS we will extend the right for staff, particularly nurses, to request to run their own services in the not for-profit sector.’

Football Supporter Trusts
We will work with governing authorities to ensure that professional clubs are accountable to their stakeholders, and run transparently on sound financial principles, with greater involvement of local communities and supporter representation.

Sports governing bodies will be empowered to scrutinise takeovers of clubs, ensuring they are in the long-term interests of the club and the sport. We will develop proposals to enable registered Supporters Trusts to buy stakes in their club.

New Mutualism
In a section entitled ‘The New Mutualism,’ the manifesto states, ‘there is growing interest in co-operative and mutual organisations that people trust, and that have the capacity to unleash creativity and innovation, creating new jobs and services – particularly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods where traditional approaches have failed in the past. We want to see more local organisations run on cooperative principles with an expansion of Community Interest Companies and third sector mutual organisations that reinvest profits for the public good.’

To give more people a stake in a highly valued national asset, British Waterways will be turned into a mutually owned co-operative.

We will review the structures that oversee English Heritage, putting mutual principles at the heart of its governance so that people can have a direct say over the protection and maintenance of Britain’s built historical legacy.

We will promote the use of community shares that support investment in football clubs, pubs, renewable energy and shops.

Community ownership
Community Land Trusts enable local people to purchase and run local amenities and assets in their area such as youth facilities, parks and open spaces. We will promote the transfer of buildings and land to the ownership or control of voluntary and community groups.

Rural villages should never be left without essential services. Councils now have to ensure that the importance of local services to the community is taken into account before granting planning permission to change their use, and we will strengthen this to protect viable shops, pubs and community facilities. We will continue to encourage and support imaginative solutions in rural communities to the provision of locally owned services.

Liberal Democrat Party

As with the other two Parties, the Liberal Democrats have been influenced by the strong debate put forward for mutuals.

In a section entitled, ‘supporting mutuals, co-ops and social enterprises’ the Liberal Democrat manifesto outlines their belief ‘that mutuals, co-operatives and social enterprises have an important role to play in the creation of a more balanced and mixed economy. Mutuals give people a proper stake in the places they work, spreading wealth through society, and bringing innovative and imaginative business ideas to bear on meeting local needs.’

Financial Services Authority
‘We will give financial regulators a clear objective of maintaining a diversity of providers in the financial services industry.’

Northern Rock
‘We will seek to turn Northern Rock into a building society.’

Employee Ownership & Royal Mail
‘We will give both Royal Mail and post offices a long-term future, by separating Post Office Ltd from the Royal Mail and retaining Post Office Ltd in full public ownership. 49 per cent of Royal Mail will be sold to create funds for investment. The ownership of the other 51 per cent will be divided between an employee trust and the government.’

Community Ownership
‘We will encourage community-owned renewable energy schemes where local people benefit from the power produced.’

Legislation and Mutuals Minister
‘We will pass a new Mutuals, Co-operatives and Social Enterprises Bill to bring the law up to date and give responsibility for mutuals to a specific minister.’

Health
‘We will empower local communities to improve health services through elected Local Health Boards, which will take over the role of Primary Care Trust boards in commissioning care for local people, working in co-operation with local councils.

Over time, Local Health Boards should be able to take on greater responsibility for revenue and resources to allow local people to fund local services which need extra money.’

Child Trust Funds
‘We will put in place cuts which could be realised within the financial year, such as scrapping the Child Trust Fund or restricting tax credits, to release money for our jobs and infrastructure package.

In recent weeks there has been a flurry of speeches and statements by the parties about their support for co-operative and mutual initiatives.

Today the mutual sector has responded with its plans for putting people at the heart of business and society in the first ever Mutuals Manifesto.

The Manifesto calls for more businesses to belong to their customers, more employee owned firms and more community led public services.

The next Government should commit to:

 Ensure that mutuals receive equal treatment with plcs by:
o Establishing a Government office for mutuals with a designated Minister for Mutuals
o Committing to update mutuals legislation

 Make sure that Regulators act in a way that respects diverse forms of ownership by:
o Altering the terms of the Financial Services Authority to make it sustain a full range of business types

 Promote mutual ownership as a way of serving the public interest by:
o Evaluating the return of Northern Rock to the mutual sector
o Establishing a unit to convert public service providers to mutuals
o Supporting the Commission on Ownership

Mutuo Chief Executive, Peter Hunt, said:

“The nature of the recession has meant that fundamental questions are being asked about the way businesses are owned and how our economy is structured.

The Government must be responsible for ensuring that people have a choice about who they do business with. Mutuals exist to share the rewards of enterprise with those that earn them; there are lessons in this for how we structure business and our community more widely.

It has been good to see politicians talking about mutuals in recent news but we now need to see political parties take action to help build a stronger and more vibrant mutual sector.”

Download the manifesto here mutuals-manifesto-final-print

Will Hutton will Chair the Commission

The economic crisis has shown the fragility of investor owned business, and the importance of the diversity of corporate forms to the British economy. Trust in institutions is at an all time low. At the same time, Government is increasingly interested in how public services can be more accountable to their users, whilst harnessing a stronger culture of employee engagement.

It is the right time to launch a Commission on Ownership to examine the role that ownership plays in our society.

A Commission on Ownership

Modelled on the highly influential ‘Commission on Social Justice’ (1992-1994) the objective is for the Commission on Ownership to produce an authoritative report that establishes a new and clear understanding of the influence that ownership has on the governance of our country.

The key questions for the Commission are:

• Does ownership matter?

• Does ownership affect fairness in Britain?

• What, if anything should Government do about ownership?

A Commission on ownership will look at all of these questions and make recommendations for a better understanding of the Government’s responsibility on ensuring diverse and fair ownership in Britain.

The Commission will examine:

Ownership and public services

Citizen and employee involvement in public services: in particular examining the developing new mutual corporate forms and recommend features of public accountability and staff engagement that could be introduced across the public sector.

Corporate ownership

The Commission will look at the ownership profile of the corporate sector. It could examine whether ownership affects behaviour in the sector. It would explore how ownership affects customer service, staff engagement, risk taking and entrepreneurialism. It would look at how economic diversity affects risk in the UK economy.

Process

The Oxford Centre for Mutual and Employee-owned Business, at Kellogg College Oxford University will run the Commission on Ownership.

• The secretariat will be facilitated through the University and Mutuo.

• The Commission will begin its work in February 2010

• A series of policy and research papers will be commissioned for the Commission on Ownership.

• A series of seminars and events will be hosted by the University to explore aspects of the Commission’s brief.

• Interim papers will be published through the life of the Commission.

• A final report will be produced within 18 months.

Commission Membership

Commissioners will be drawn from academics, business leaders, and policy experts.
They will be leaders in their field. The first Commissioners are:

Independent Chair – Will Hutton
Peter Marks – Group Chief Executive, The Co-operative Group
Professor Jonathan Michie, President Kellogg College, Oxford University
Lady Sylvia Jay - Vice Chair L’Oreal
Ruth Sunderland, Business Editor of Observer
Richard Reeves – Director, Demos
Oliver Nyumbu – Chief Executive, Caret Ltd

Commission Secretary – Peter Hunt, Chief Executive, Mutuo

Funding & Resourcing

Co-operative Financial Services have pledged £100,000 support over the life of the Commission. This will cover the secretariat and facilitation costs.

Additional funding will be sought from the mutual business & other sources.

To find out more, visit the Commission on Ownership website at ownershipcomm.org