cooperatives-wales.coop

Tom Lloyd Goodwin’s article, “A National Care Service” https://cles.org.uk/a-national-care-service-must-start-with-reforming-the-care-market/ makes an essential contribution to care reform. His argument that market reform must accompany investment deserves attention across the UK. Co-operatives Wales agrees additional funding must improve people’s lives, strengthen the workforce and sustain services, rather than reinforce arrangements that allow excessive extraction.8:11:26 A National Care Service must change who owns and controls care

8:1§1:26 coproduction must put community power into practice Paul Stepczak’s challenge to organisations claiming to coproduce their services deserves attention. Surveys, consultation events and partnerships between providers can serve useful purposes. Whether they constitute coproduction depends on the power communities exercise. His emphasis on co-design, co-delivery and co-ownership, within equal, reciprocal and ongoing relationships, brings that question into focus. For Co-operatives Wales, this connects directly with our commitment to putting co-operative principles at the heart of services and community life. “Nothing About Us Without Us” requires meaningful rights to influence decisions, challenge priorities and hold decision-makers accountable. People’s involvement must have consequences for what organisations do and how resources are used.

8:11:26 WG procuremnt initial response Welsh Government are seeking views on the draft WPPS and draft Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA). Co-operatives Wales supports strengthening the Welsh economy through public procurement. What will change in how public bodies buy, and who will act if the results stay the same? The draft gives buyers several ways to open up markets. It also proposes reporting. The missing link is a common set of published measures, a named person in each authority responsible for progress, and a process for correcting underperformance.

8:11:26 Southern Co-op merger with the Co-op Group approved following financial difficulties The approval of Southern Co-op’s merger with Co-op Group represents progress towards the organisations’ stated objective of combining financial strength and operational scale. It also records the loss of Southern Co-op’s independent position following sustained financial pressure. The published explanations identify the immediate reasons for the rescue, but do not constitute an independent examination of every factor behind the losses or establish whether different earlier decisions could have prevented them.

8:11:26 cm community-led to community-owned- putting co-operative principles into practice Do we need to be clear about what the fashionable term ‘community led’ actually means in practice? Chris Mundy’s discussion of Australia’s neighbourhood centres raises a question relevant to Wales. Consulting residents, employing local people or appointing local board members can contribute to participation. Whether communities exercise power depends on who sets priorities, controls resources and makes final decisions.

8:11:26 national social care service  ”

Social care all too often becomes a “David V Goliath” struggle with a local authority care provider, where “one size fits all” really isn’t the best outcome for the recipient. In Wales the 2014 Act has a guiding principle of “co-production”, but local authorities struggle with the concept or simply sidestep it. Perhaps as a result the last Welsh government passed the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025, giving care recipients a route out of local authority control. However, many are finding the route to Continuing Health Care via a Local Health Board almost unfathomable, so as to lead nowhere?”

 With: Mark Turner, Head of Social Care, Unison Cymru; Geraint Jenkins, CEO, Cartrefi Cymru Co-operative; Cheryl Barrott, Ex-Coops UK Chair, current chair Sheffield Coop Development Group; and Cllr Sue Morgan, Torfaen County Borough Council

Meeting ID 883 4233 1414 Passcode 697929 https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88342331414?pwd=3k23EPPudP2d2HsowzLlB9S06v1qLW.1 

For further information see  article to follow and Welsh Government: https://www.gov.wales/national-care-service-programme-wales

Andrew Pakes, Labour & Co-operative MP for Peterborough, elected in July 2024. He was appointed the Government’s Co-operatives and Mutuals Champion on 28 October 2026. His terms of reference are set out in summary as follows:

These arrangements are published by HM Treasury. Sponsor: HM Treasury. Reporting to: the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for Small Business and Enterprise. Duration: 18 months from date of appointment

Interlink’s discussion about Community Interest Companies raises legitimate concerns about concentrated control, related-party payments and conflicts of interest. Its commitment to consultation and reciprocal questioning is welcome. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simon-james-71b55913_hot-topic-community-interest-companies-share-7518710708541407233-nsrX/ However, some accompanying comments risk turning specific governance concerns into blanket suspicion. Wales needs rigorous assessment, accessible support and consistent standards across organisational forms. ds26:10:26CICs deserve fair scrutiny

Chris Bolton’s reflection on raising standing stones offers a powerful image of co-operation: people combining effort, knowledge and determination to achieve something beyond their individual capabilities. The stone remains visible afterwards, but another achievement matters just as much: the relationships built through doing something together. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chris-bolton-86329013_we-raised-stones-together-heres-the-final-share-7520049601270255616-g-6o/  We raised stones together 26:10:26

Matthew Reardon’s account of architecture students working with communities in Bargoed, Maerdy and Tredegar offers an encouraging vision: regeneration shaped through relationships, learning and sustained involvement https://lnkd.in/p/ecDjmYTE From a Welsh co-operative perspective, its success will depend on whether community voice develops into genuine decision-making power and shared ownership. cw19:10:26 Pride in place must mean power for communities 

Neil Duncan-Jordan’s cw:+19:10:26 Duncan-Jordan resoonse Article  identifies the injustice in social care: people’s financial security can depend on whether their needs are classified as healthcare or social support. His call for collective funding deserves support. Another review will achieve little unless it changes who pays, who provides and who decides. For Wales, however, the debate must recognise devolution. Social care policy is devolved, and England’s charging thresholds should not be presented as Welsh rules. Wales must shape its own settlement, while UK decisions on immigration and public spending influence what Welsh services can deliver.

Pride in Place, Co-operation & the Risk of Community Power Being Displaced:Are we putting Place before Party? Although dated worth a reminder.

Prepared by: Co-operatives Wales and Sheffield Co-operative Development Group

Purpose of this Briefing

In addition to our 18 June 2026 enquiry, this briefing is submitted following Andy Burnham’s election as MP for Makerfield, and in recognition of the relevance of Pride in Place to the UK and the specific debates that emerged within communities around the Makerfield constituency. Although dated with changed PM and new Secretary of State it’s a reminder of key issues that still remain which start and end with culture change.

Briefing Steve Reed- 21-06-2026

For lots of refreshing practical case studies with experience and ideas, including, Nudge (Plymouth), Dewsbury Archade, Two Up Two Down (Anfield), Co-operative Student Homes, Music Venue Properties, Co-operative Place Making & Pride in Place, The Portland Inn (Stoke on Trent), Cwmni Bro, Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Engaging children and young, Glenn Bowen (Cwmpas) and more! Go to our YouTube channel for 100+ co-operative education videos.  12thSeptCoopsWalesEvent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5AUIWpLpE8&list=PLGbE0b-Z8DOYWweIMD5_4uh_sODrUsIpo

In response to the Prime Ministers statement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-andy-burnham-sets-out-plans-for-a-new-national-care-service Co-operatives Wales asks the Casey Commission to make democratic ownership, prevention and retention of public value central to social care reform. Although its remit concerns adult social care in England, Welsh experience offers important lessons. Reform must respect devolution while learning across borders and addressing relationships between adult care, children’s services, family support and transitions into adulthood cw:Casey Review Submission- Co-operatives

Our central concern is the protection of community value. cw Community Ownership : Right to Buy 13:10:26 Public investment, volunteer effort and locally generated wealth should remain dedicated to community benefit. Effective asset locks must prevent these gains being diverted into private enrichment, including when an organisation dissolves or sells an asset. Democratic governance, inclusive membership and accountability to the community are equally essential.

In response to the Prime Ministers statement this week we’ve asked the Casey Commission to make democratic ownership, prevention and retention of public value central to social care reform. cw:Casey Review Submission- Co-operatives UK Although its remit concerns adult social care in England, Welsh experience offers important lessons. Reform must respect devolution while learning across borders and addressing relationships between adult care, children’s services, family support and transitions into adulthood. People aged over eighty must be explicitly included in evidence gathering and decision-making, rather than subsumed into a single older-person category.

In Wales, the disconnect between social policy & practice is astonishing. Extraction weakens an already underfunded system. CLES’s Welsh learning disability research estimated £106 million profit associated with £1.1 billion public expenditure during 2020–2024. Approximately £44 million, 42% of estimated profit, was attributable to providers linked to private equity, tax-haven ownership, or both.

Submitted by Coops Wales on behalf of Welsh & Yorkshire Young Co-operator. SEP – Nothing About Us Without Us – Report cwyc:3:10:26Young Co-operators Casey Submission. Following the Prime Minsters statement this week https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-andy-burnham-sets-out-plans-for-a-new-national-care-service The Casey Commission have been asked to recognise the social care concerns of children, young people and families as well as adults. We understand its formal remit is adult social care in England. Nevertheless, reforms will be weakened if they overlook childhood, unpaid care, family relationships and transitions. We seek connected recommendations and explicit consideration of these interfaces, respecting Welsh devolution.[1]