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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]

CLES – Wales must turn its co-operative care promise into practice At the Senedd Co-op Cross Party Group meeting this week, Dr Sarah Evans’s presentation of CLES research exposed a troubling gap between Wales’s social care ambitions and how public money is spent. For the co-operative sector, the challenge is to turn commitments to voice, prevention and community wellbeing into ownership, investment and commissioning decisions that deliver them.

CLES has provided a compelling reason to act. Wales must make its co-operative commitments visible in contracts, budgets and people’s everyday lives. Success means careshaped by people, with resources strengthening the communities that sustain them.

Short video from the Coops Wales, 12 September 2026 High Street event where children and young people presented their findings on their three month research project involving 637 children and young people in Wales and England. Main event video to follow.

Our May 2024 Robert Owen Day we focused upon “Building a Co-operative Future: Law Commission Review – Radical Perspectives”.   https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGbE0b-Z8DOZkJsIgzSZJoRhVzoSuDiOH

We explored a bold new vision for co-operative law, specifically examining how the Law Commission, which has now partly reported (see below) could help reshape the legal landscape to create the ideal conditions for co-operative growth. The event brought together representatives from The Law Commission and Co-ops UK, alongside co-operative lawyers, sector operators, and community activists.

During one panel discussion, James Wright, Co-ops UK Head of Policy argued that the wider policy landscape suffers from a profound lack of awareness. “The practical understanding of the co-operative movement is very thin”. Wright noted. “We need a much richer understanding than we currently have. Legislation, regulations, and strategic interventions for different sectors are quite often created in a way that completely fails to countenance the existence of co-operatives. As a result, unnecessary barriers are created that actively hinder how co-operatives function.” He further emphasised that even if  governments and others successfully introduced co-operative and mutual policy impact assessments, “we would still be asked for more information about what criteria to use.”

In January 2026, to help answer this question, Co-operative News published an opinion piece by David Smith of Co-operatives Wales titled “Putting co-operation at the heart of education in Wales”  We welcome your comments and engagement in taking this agenda forward in Wales and beyond.

+ The Law Commission and Co-operatives UK have confirmed that the final report and draft Bill have been delayed due to internal resourcing and scheduling. It is officially expected to be published in early 2027. How will this make a difference in everyday understanding the co-operative model of business?

The announcement of Progressive Voices Cymru is a welcome and timely development. Wales needs spaces in which people can think seriously, creatively and ambitiously about its future, particularly at a time of economic insecurity, pressure on public services, democratic disillusionment and widening inequalities.

We urge 12:9:26 articleProgressive Voices Cymru Progressive Voices Cymru  must create meaningful space for workers, trade unionists, co-operators, young people, Disabled people,  other protected equalities characteristic communities, Welsh-speaking communities, unpaid carers, social tenants and people living in communities experiencing poverty and economic exclusion.

Digwyddiad ar-lein – Dydd Sadwrn, 12 Medi • 10am – 12.15pm

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/high-street-decline-and-renewal-co-op-solutions-community-action-tickets-1994539329827

Archwilio atebion cymunedol i adfywio ein Strydoedd Mawr sydd wedi colli eu bywiogrwydd. Mentrau o Lerpwl, Dewsbury a Stoke-on-Trent. + Steve Witherden AS. Hefyd, syniadau newydd yn ymwneud â cherddoriaeth a chydweithredwyr ifanc. Rydym yn gorffen drwy ganolbwyntio’n fanwl ar rôl y llywodraeth. Beth sydd angen newid i helpu adfywio cymunedol ar draws holl wledydd y DU?

Interested in Support & Collaboration: Reclaiming Empty Commercial Properties for Communities.  High Street Decline and Renewal: Co-operative Solutions & Community Action

Saturday, 12 September 2026 10.00 am to 12.15 pm – free and online

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/high-street-decline-and-renewal-co-op-solutions-community-action-tickets-1994539329827

Investigating community solutions to renew our ‘hollowed out’ High Streets. Enterprises from Liverpool, Stoke on Trent & Dewsbury. + Steve Witherden MP. + New ideas related to music and young co-operators. We conclude by focusing in detail on the role of government. What needs to change to help community regeneration across all UK countries?

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.