Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support the growth of the co-operative sector.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade committed to launch a Call for Evidence on co-operative and mutual business. The Call for Evidence will focus on how the government can continue to support co-operative and mutual businesses, to start, grow and scale, as well as support for existing businesses who want to transition to become a co-operative or mutual.

DBT is also looking at how to integrate support for co-operatives and mutuals within the government’s overall approach for supporting SMEs, including what we can do via the Business Growth Service, and through DBT funded Growth Hubs (England only) which aim to support local businesses, including co-operative and mutuals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of public sector procurement with local suppliers in each English region in each year between 2010 and 2025.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Information on the effectiveness of public sector procurement with local suppliers in each English region is not held centrally.

This Government is determined to ensure public procurement delivers jobs, growth and investment across all regions of the UK. Our National Procurement Policy Statement encourages contracting authorities to consider how procurement can foster economic growth, support small businesses, strengthen UK supply chains and drive delivery of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and missions.

We are considering additional measures to further assist local suppliers and support British skills and jobs.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Government-funded business development support in the co-operative and mutual sectors.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade committed to launch a Call for Evidence on co-operative and mutual business. The Call for Evidence will focus on how the government can continue to support co-operative and mutual businesses, to start, grow and scale, as well as support for existing businesses who want to transition to become a co-operative or mutual.

As part of this, we will be collecting data on existing business support for co-operatives and mutuals, including, but not limited to government funded support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the financial contribution of the co-operative sector to the economy; and what estimate her Department has made of the level of growth in that sector in each of the next five years.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the contribution of co-operatives to the economy, serving local communities and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector.

According to Co-operatives UK, there are 7,391 co-operatives operating in the UK with a combined annual income of £42.7bn. Co-operatives serve 16.6 million members - an increase of 1.4 million (9.5%) from 2024 levels - and employ almost 240,000 people.

The government is taking steps to support further growth the co-operative sector in line with its manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which will consider ways to update and modernise the Act. The review is expected to be published by the end of the 2025 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding.

Additionally, at Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures aimed at supporting the growth of the broader co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape by the end of 2025.

The Department for Business and Trade has also announced a call for evidence which will explore business support for co-operatives and non-financial mutuals.

Together, these will support the growth of the co-operative sector in line with the manifesto commitment.

UN International Year of Co-operatives