cooperatives-wales.coop

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/22/processed-food-firms-courts-obstruct-health-regulations?CMP=share_btn_url

We prompted the Law Commission on their review of the 2014 Act ‘to see if its fit to meet the needs of society’. “They say, “Thank you for your interest in our review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. We are writing to let you know that, due to internal resourcing and scheduling, our final Report and draft Bill will now be published in early 2027. For those stakeholders who are also interested in our review of the Friendly Societies Acts 1992 and 1974: we intend to publish our report and draft Bill in the autumn of this year, potentially in September”. You can see  one of several relevant videos from a Robert Owen Day event on this theme  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEA3ui1mIwU

Following our May 16 Robert Owen Day, our Stage Two online event is planned for 12 September 2026.

As requested in feedback, this will include several deep dive – nuts and bolts sessions.

Further details to follow.

Note: seven short videos of our 2026 Robert Owen Day event can be found on our YouTube channel.

Urgent Interim Funding Vital to Save Welsh Assets Before Landmark Community Right to Buy Bill Takes Effect

To stop this asset loss, funding availability must be decoupled from the time it takes to pass the legislation. Sector leaders urge the Welsh Government to immediately launch the interim Welsh Community Asset Acquisition Fund by drawing from existing block grant allocations and the Perthyn framework. A formal request for reciprocal capital support has also been sent to the UK Government.

The General Medical Council Order 2026 presents a complex legal, technical maze that effectively marginalises the patient’s voice on critical safety issues. A mere numerical majority cannot validate policy when patient safety is at stake. Our framework establishes transparent patient expectations for a publicly funded NHS. It serves as a direct, rigorous response to the jargon-laden consultation questions designed by a few with vested financial interests in the outcome. Read on:23626 The NHS workforce crisis

UK Patient Safety and Regulatory Reform

This is not a technical response to the GMC Order consultation – deadline 23/6/2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-the-general-medical-council-legislative-framework The argument is not that multidisciplinary teams are wrong. It is that patients must not be misled, accountability must not be blurred, and workforce gaps must not be filled by unsafe substitution under the cover of regulatory reform.

The central point is that the NHS workforce crisis must not be addressed by blurring the distinction between doctors and non-doctor roles. Patients must be able to understand who is treating them, whether that person is a doctor, what they are qualified to do, and who is clinically responsible for their care.

The draft GMC Order is therefore not just a technical regulatory change. It is a patient safety issue. The danger is that the public may see “GMC registered” and assume equivalence with a doctor, even where the practitioner is a physician assistant or physician assistant in anaesthesia. That risk needs to be addressed directly and clearly.

• The patient-facing test much more explicit:
• Would an ordinary patient know whether they are being treated by a doctor?
• Would they know what that practitioner is qualified to do?
• Would there be a clearly identifiable doctor responsible for supervision, escalation and overall clinical accountability?
• If the answer to any of those questions is no, then the Order needs stronger safeguards.

Patients need:

1. A clearly separate and patient-visible medical register. If the Government proceeds with a single statutory GMC register, then the register of doctors must still be clearly distinct in all public-facing systems, employer checks, patient information and clinical settings. A technical subdivision within a broader GMC database is not enough.
2. Clear implementation of the title changes recommended by the Leng Review. The term “physician associate” has caused public confusion. “Physician assistant” is a more accurate description of the role and should make clearer to patients that these practitioners are not doctors.
3. National scope and supervision limits. Local employers should not be free to use physician assistants as substitutes for doctors in undifferentiated, high-risk or inadequately supervised clinical work. This is particularly important in emergency, acute and primary care settings.
4. Explicit medical accountability. Every deployment model should identify the supervising doctor, the limits of delegated work, escalation thresholds, and the process for reviewing errors, near misses and complaints. Vague “team supervision” is not sufficient where patient safety is at stake.
5. A clear statement that regulation of assistant roles is not a substitute for medical workforce planning. The NHS needs more doctors in training, more training posts, better retention and safe rota design. Expanding assistant roles without fixing doctor unemployment, specialty training bottlenecks and consultant workforce gaps risks worsening the workforce crisis rather than solving it.

If the GMC propose they no longer report annually to Parliament, it makes it even more important that safeguards are built in from the outset – if the draft Order is to give the GMC more flexible and autonomous rule-making powers, reducing external control over many future rule changes.

23626:ds The NHS workforce crisis

The draft GMC Order is therefore not just a technical regulatory change. It is a patient safety issue. The danger is that the public may see “GMC registered” and assume equivalence with a doctor, even where the practitioner is a physician assistant or physician assistant in anaesthesia. That risk needs to be addressed directly and clearly.

Pride in Place, Co-operation and the Risk of Community Power Being Displaced: Are we putting Place before Party?

The Pride in Place Prospectus makes important and welcome references to community-led delivery, co-operatives, community benefit societies, charities, community institutions and the transition of Neighbourhood Boards towards community-led models.

However, concerns are now emerging nationally that the co-operative dimension of Pride in Place is not being adequately promoted, resourced, protected or driven at local level.

The central concern is this: Pride in Place was meant to be different. It was meant to put communities in control. It must not become another programme where funding is controlled through the back door by institutions already holding power.

NHS Patient Safety recommendations 2026 The Co-op Movement has always championed quality public services, including patient safety. We appeal directly to the UK Government  because the GMC consultation, deadline 23/6/2026, is designed to prevent patient input!

The argument is not that multidisciplinary teams are wrong. It is that patients must not be misled, accountability must not be blurred, and workforce gaps must not be filled by unsafe doctor substitution under the cover of regulatory reform.

The central point is that the NHS workforce crisis must not be addressed by blurring the distinction between doctors and non-doctor roles. Patients must be able to understand who is treating them, whether that person is a doctor, what they are qualified to do, and who is clinically responsible for their care. Anyone  can submit evidence to Labour’s National Policy Forum. We urge you to do so.

As Wales enters a new political chapter following the Senedd elections of 7 May, there is a growing sense that incremental change is no longer enough, writes the team from Co-op Wales. https://www.thenews.coop/comment-a-new-era-for-wales/

Communities are tired of seeing wealth leave local areas, public services diminished, and everyday decisions made far away from the people affected. People voted for Plaid Cymru because they wanted change, just as a minority voted for the false promises of Reform UK Ltd.

The question facing the new Plaid government is not simply how to grow the economy, it’s what type of economy, and who it’s for. There is a compelling argument that Wales now could take a different path; one rooted not in extraction and centralisation, but in democracy, community ownership and shared prosperity.

Seven short videos from our 2026 Robert Owen Day event on Transforming a Declining High Street. Includes the Centre for Local Economies presentation, three grassroots case studies. Plus a Co-operative Perspective on Urban Renewal and UK Government’s Pride in Place Programme – at video 7/7, by Chrissy Meleady, CEO Sheffield Coop Development Group. At Video 2/7 Cheryl Barrott explains the origins of  ‘Community Wealth Building’ and ‘doubling the coop economy’.

https://tinyurl.com/OwenDay2026

Pride in Place – Hand Out A4 V1.1 

Across the UK, the Government’s £5bn Pride in Place (PiP) programme represents one of the most significant place-based regeneration and community renewal initiatives in recent decades. The programme aims to provide long-term investment into communities considered “left behind”, with neighbourhood boards and community participation placed at the centre of delivery.

Yet the key question remains: Can communities genuinely shape and own the future of their places, or will Pride in Place become another centrally managed regeneration programme operating under the language of participation?

This publication for the Robert Owen Day 2026 online event explores why co-operation, co-operatives, equality, inclusion and democratic participation are essential if Pride in Place is to achieve lasting and meaningful change.

At our fifth Robert Owen Day, we explore Community Wealth Building through 3 real-world case studies. Learning how we move from decline to renewal and revitalise our communities. Registration here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-transformation-of-a-declining-high-street-co-operative-solutions-tickets-1985667971355

A theme prompted by https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/11/uk-high-streets-reform-shops-closing-hope  which argues the emptying of high streets has reached a crisis point, with hundreds of shops closing, including major brands, and notes the political implications of this decline. You are welcome to join us.

Over 100 food businesses, NGOs and academics call for ‘Good Food Bill’ as failing food system threatens national security and public health
Coops Wales joins major UK food businesses, NGOs and academics in calling for new law as failing food system threatens national security and public health. https://www.sustainweb.org/news/feb26-good-food-bill/

Properly resourced education and learning networks, with adequate time to develop and embed would:

• enable meaningful resident participation rather than symbolic consultation;
• support Neighbourhood Boards to evolve into robust, community-led legal entities;
• strengthen trust, transparency, and democratic practice;
• reduce risk to public funds through improved governance capability;
• ensure that learning is shared systematically across PiP areas.

Embed Education, Training, and Information- Pride in Place and the Network for Neighbourhoods.

• We strongly welcome the Pride in Place (PiP) programme, which represents a vital shift from top-down renewal to localised empowerment. By delegating authority to a ‘Neighbourhood Board’—not the Council—residents will dictate how £2m p.a. (over 10 years) is spent to address specific local needs.
• Shortly, this funding enables a 4-year investment plan (to be agreed by UK Government) covering capital improvements, such as traffic management and road maintenance, alongside revenue projects like potentially improving NHS health check uptake, supporting early years learning, or boosting local sports.
• To succeed, the method of decision-making must be as robust as the investment itself. We must establish strong, supportive frameworks that ensure local voices have genuine agency, fulfilling the promise of true devolution.