Miliband and Jowell join forces to meet the mutual moment

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

In a signal that Labour is serious about mutual ideas underpinning its election manifesto, Tessa Jowell and Ed Miliband gathered at Downing Street today with representatives from social enterprises, local mutual healthcare providers, corporate co-operative leaders and business representatives to discuss the strategic framework for how the Government might move towards an increased role for mutuals in the personalisation of public services.

Tessa Jowell told me last year that mutualism is the “next stage of New Labour“, and it is thought the mutual and co-operative models will be at the core of Labour’s election manifesto.

The seminar today involved some 30 mutual and co-operative leaders from across different sectors and sought to develop the types of mechanisms that might help deliver mutualism as a defining, overarching policy objective.

The seminar covered two main topics: why this is the right time for increased user-involvement in public services; and ways Government can help in creating the circumstances under which mutuals can thrive.

The following is a summary of some of the ideas discussed by the group:

Meeting the Moment
* There is a broad consensus that the moment for more mutual and personalised public services has arrived, a moment created by the global economic crisis and the public’s increased desire for lower risk and more accountability.

* There is a need to match increased expectations of modern public services with an acceptance of the reality of tighter public finance – mutualism provides that.

* Services should move away from being principally bureaucratic and towards something people can genuinely participate in and shape.

* The process has already begun – in Foundation Trust hospitals, housing co-ops, Sure Start centres and co-op trust schools. Mutual and co-operative public services are already used by at least 2 million people and manage £10 billion of taxpayers’ money for the provision of services.

Overcoming the Obstacles
* There should be an expansion of the knowledge base about how mutuals work and are set up, by creating a shortlist of successful model types for dissemination as best practise guides.

* Local authorities should default to offering mutual and co-operative solutions to make the establishment of user-run services easier, and commissionable locally.

* Government should provide the investment for pilot schemes where appropriate.

* Government should seek to create the envionment in which mutuals can thrive through a Community Reinvestment Act, which has led to a trillion dollar investment in lower-income areas in the United States.

* The right to request mutualisation should be granted at local authority level.

* There should be a reduction and diversification of types of inspection and regulation of public services – bespoke for mutuals and co-ops – in order to remove barriers to establishing and managing user-run services.

* Practical and legal advice should be offered on how to establish and manage mutuals.

* Central financial investments should be made for pension funds within co-operative services.