Waveney MP Peter Aldous has called on the Government to address issues facing social enterprises such as raise where they are disadvantaged by having to pay more for insurance and IT than if they had remained in the NHS.

 

Peter questioned the Government in Oral Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

 

This follows on from the Minister’s visit to East Coast Community Healthcare, a staff owned Social Enterprise providing community based and social care in Peter’s Waveney constituency. Peter listened carefully to their concerns about being outside the NHS. These were as follow:-

Social enterprises play a significant role as providers of health care, although there are uncertainties as to whether they have the necessary provisions to establish themselves and be sustainable in an increasingly competitive context. It is for this reason that Peter pressed for assurances from the Government that it would work with social enterprises to address any obstacles they may need to tackle to achieve long-term success.

 

Francis Maude paid tribute to the inspirational work of East Coast Community Healthcare and agreed to take up Peter’s points with the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt.

 

Peter Aldous MP said:

 

“Social Enterprises have a key role to play in the delivery of services but they need to be able to operate on a level playing field. East Coast Community Healthcare has shown clear evidence of successfully driving development and it is important that we provide the necessary support to such organisations. I am pleased that the Minister has pledged talk to the Health Secretary and bring this matter to his attention and I’ll be pursuing the matter with them.”