Local authorities in Wales should do more to ‘maximise the impact' of social enterprises in their areas, auditors say.
A new report from Audit Wales has found that most Welsh councils are not doing enough to help social enterprises support disadvantaged communities.
It said that while there are good examples of collaborations between councils and social enterprises, a mixture of poor leadership and inadequate engagement means that their potential is not being realised.
Social Enterprises sit between the public and private sectors. They take many forms including partnerships for-profit or non-profit, co-operatives, mutual organisations, social businesses, community interest company's and charities.
Audit Wales found that while most local authorities provide grants for businesses and the third sector, they are not using them to specifically support social enterprises.
In particular, the auditors said councils need to do more to deliver their statutory social care responsibilities to social enterprises and effectively develop the sector to deliver more services in communities.
Auditor General Adrian Crompton said: ‘Social enterprises play an important role in meeting needs and helping people in communities across Wales. Local authorities could do more to maximise the impact of social enterprises, get better value for money from their work, and improve services for people and communities.'
