Before we begin, I remind Members that they are expected to wear face coverings when they are not speaking in the debate. This is in line with current Government and House of Commons Commission guidance. I remind Members that they are asked by the House to have a covid lateral flow test twice a week if coming on to the parliamentary estate. This can be done either at the testing centre in the House or at home. Colleagues may wish to know that I have just had a negative one, so I think I, at least, am safe for now. Please also give each other and members of staff space when seated and when entering and leaving the room.
That this House has considered the contribution of co-operatives and mutual societies to the economy and public life.
I am delighted to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Angela, and I am very grateful to everybody who has attended. I am slightly conscious that today’s other business might have distracted some of my Conservative colleagues who signed up to the application. I lament the fact that they are not here, but there we are—I cannot think what else is going on at the moment. I am very grateful to Co-operatives UK for inspiring this debate and for providing an excellent brief, on which I will rely closely.
A free society—one based on a market economy—really must have within it a place for co-operatives, and the Conservative party might not always have embraced that idea as tightly as I might have liked. Given the length of time for which we have been in power, and given how long we will have been in power by the next general election, I hope that the Conservative party can champion and not merely embrace co-operatives as a really important part of a free society. Co-operatives can be harnessed as tools to expand opportunity, wealth, liberty, pride and aspiration more fairly in the UK, both geographically and socially. They are a powerful tool for funding and implementing the UK’s new net zero strategy.
The co-operative economy is diverse, resilient and growing. There are now more than 7,000 independent co-operative businesses in the UK, with a combined annual turnover of almost £40 billion and more than 250,000 employees. They trade in sectors as diverse as agriculture, renewable energy, retrofitting, the creative industries, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, retail and finance. In 2020, the turnover of the co-operative economy grew by £1.1 billion, and twice as many co-operatives were created as dissolved. Most co-operatives in the UK are consumer-owned, but in recent years we have seen a marked growth in community ownership, worker co-operatives and freelancer co-operatives. Many of the UK’s largest co-operatives comprise other businesses, such as farmers’ co-operatives.
By international comparison, though, the UK co-operative economy is small and growing slowly. Less than 1% of businesses in the UK are co-operatives. Germany’s co-operative economy is four times bigger than the UK’s, and France’s is six times larger. That might well derive from history, but I say to the Government that now is a moment when we can choose positively to take a path that makes it more possible for co-operatives in the UK to grow. The UK’s co-operative start-up rate is also comparatively low. In recent years, South Koreans have created 12 times more co-operatives per head of population than we in the UK have. Perhaps the co-operative model is underused and is something of a best-kept secret in our society and economy.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned the taxi co-operative in Cardiff. I was delighted to work with a number of local drivers who were dissatisfied with their working conditions in other firms and who got together, worked with the Wales Co-operative Centre—to whom I pay tribute—and set up the remarkable co-operative, Drive, which references the Welsh phrase “Thank you, Drive!” at the end of a journey. I wholeheartedly agree with what the hon. Gentleman said.
Marvellous. I am looking forward to the hon. Gentleman’s contribution later, when I hope he will tell us all about that. It is wonderful to have cross-party agreement on some of these subjects, and I hope we can drive forward the agenda.
Large co-operative employers are at the forefront of good business behaviour when it comes to investing in people. I think that follows directly from the ethos of the co-operative movement—the idea of valuing everybody equally and having open and inclusive membership, for example. I will not go through all the details, because we will be here for an hour, but co-operative models can be used as tools for community-led economic development. There is a wide range of examples from right across the country—I hope Members will share some—which show how co-operatives can be at the heart of bringing people together.
What can co-operatives achieve? They can expand wealth and well-being. The efficacy of the model can lead to a proliferation of co-operatives that can help to strengthen the private sector, including in places that need it the most. That is because co-operatives are distributive by design. Value, wealth and wellbeing are shared more broadly through day-to-day activity.
A growing body of data shows that co-operatives are especially resilient businesses. At a time like this, resilience could not be more important. Official data in our country shows that co-operative start-ups are twice as likely as start-ups generally to survive the first five years of trading, for example, with similar findings in other countries. Separate research shows that co-operatives in the UK that raise equity via community shares—a crowdfunding model unique to co-operatives—are more resilient still, with a 92% survival rate.
Official data also shows that co-operatives were four times less likely to permanently close in 2020 than UK businesses generally. Research published by Scottish Enterprise shows resilience among employee-owned businesses in Scotland throughout the pandemic. The fact that twice as many co-operatives were created as dissolved in the UK in 2020, when there was a net reduction in the number of businesses in the UK overall, suggests that co-operative entrepreneurship was a comparatively resilient force during the economic and psychological shocks of the pandemic.
The hon. Gentleman is speaking about co-operatives now, but I am sure he will come on to mutuals, which are also included in the heading of the debate. Does he agree that it has been remarkable and refreshing to see the members of the mutual society LV= use their power in the past few weeks to demonstrate exactly what he has referred to? They wanted power to go to the membership, as opposed to going to shareholders for a fast buck.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I hope to make a few remarks about mutuals, but I am focusing first on co-operatives. I have been involved in the inquiry into LV= by the all-party parliamentary group for mutuals. LV= made quite a compelling case, but the point is that, as he said, it is up to the members what they do. In a free society, we make progress through trial and error. It might well be that that members have made a mistake in rejecting the bid, but it is their right to do so; it is their right to choose.
I am a huge fan of mutuals, because I can see that they are bound to create a set of incentives that support the people whom the business serves. I remember in my youth being very disappointed that so much carpetbagging was going on, with people taking £500 in exchange for demutualising. I was very disappointed at the time, and even as a teenager I could see that it was not a good idea. In the case of LV=, I fear that things are not going where they should. I very much hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will ensure there is a good quality inquiry into what is going on, and into how regulation can better support people’s desire to support the mutual spirit in the future. I think he would agree that we cannot afford to be romantic and exempt co-operatives and mutuals from the realities of commercial life, or the exigencies of things such as competition law.
I turn to performance and efficacy. The principle of mutual purpose and democratic governance is found in all co-operatives, and it has significant advantages. It is a proven way for people with a shared interest to collaborate effectively, achieving things together that they could not on their own. That is a great way to expand liberty.
Liberty is something that should be exercised in community. One of my favourite scholars said:
“Society is cooperation; it is community in action.”
It is my intention to call the Front-Bench speakers from 10.30 am, so you can do the maths yourselves in order for everybody to get the chance to speak.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Angela. I congratulate the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) on securing this important debate at such a critical time, when the economy and society should be in the throes of recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.
It has been 177 years since the pioneers successfully launched the co-operative movement in 1844 in Rochdale, Lancashire, which is not too far from my own Lancashire constituency of Preston. The movement has gone from strength to strength, and it has changed remarkably since then. As a Co-operative party MP, I have always believed that co-operatives and mutual societies are the future, not the past, and they are instrumental in creating a successful, democratic economy.
Co-operatives and mutuals contribute significantly to social integration, job creation, employment sustainability and the reduction of poverty, which makes them a serious player in the UK’s recovery from the pandemic. A key component in the make-up of co-operatives is the democratic ethos of fairness and inclusivity, where wealth and power are shared. Whether it is co-operative shops, funeral services, credit unions or, as has been mentioned, taxi firms, co-ops are owned and operated by the people closest to the business and are centred around their members and the community, rather than distant investors and shareholders focused solely on monetary returns.
When considering the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on our society, it is impossible not to acknowledge the glaring inequalities that have been exposed in our social and economic fabric. The poor of this country have borne the brunt of the devastation. The stark geographical and social divide is a clear indication that the current economic model is broken and not viable for the future.
If we are serious about levelling up the country and building back better, working people must be at the heart of economic recovery. Co-operatives and mutual societies provide a template for achieving success, where the principles of human and social capital are at the core of policy. There is no doubt in my mind that to achieve a stronger, sustainable and more resilient recovery from the covid-19 crisis, the Government must take steps to expand the co-operative sector. The evidence tells us that co-operatives are resilient; 76% of co-ops survive the first five years of business, compared with only 42% of other types of business in the UK.
My hon. Friend is making powerful points. I want to share another example of success that we can learn from. The Welsh Labour and Co-operative councillors in Vale of Glamorgan Council in my constituency have done remarkable work with Big Fresh Catering Company, a local authority trading company built on co-operative principles. In its first year, it has turned a £350,000 deficit into a £500,000 surplus, which is now being reinvested in our schools. That is an example of co-operative principles making a difference, led by Welsh Labour and Co-operative councillors.
I commend my hon. Friend on his involvement and the success that he outlines.
In developed countries such as our own, co-operatives play a much bigger role in GDP and cultural make-up, by design. As the hon. Member for Wycombe said, in Germany, the co-operative sector is four times bigger than in the UK. In France, 18% of GDP comes from its co-operative economy, which is six times larger than the UK’s. Unlike in those countries, our economy is tailored to the interests of private business, despite the overwhelming evidence of the co-operative sector’s success and resilience.
I believe that a strong and growing co-operative sector is key to creating a post-covid economy where wealth and power are shared, particularly in efforts to level up the regions of the country that have been worst hit by the pandemic. We cannot create such an economy by maintaining the status quo and hoping that more co-operatives and mutual societies will carry on as they have done—instead, co-operatives and mutual societies need the support that other business models receive, which is why the Government must urgently commit to bringing forward practical business support aimed at significantly growing the UK’s co-operative sector as part of our economic recovery. In their policy, the Government must enable a corporate framework that recognises and champions the success of co-operatives and mutual societies, and understands the value and mutual benefits of achieving that success.
As we rebuild today and for the future, we have an opportunity to create an economy of ambitious growth, wellbeing and social protection for all. That is why I believe that co-operatives and mutual societies are one answer to the problems raised by the current pandemic.
It is always a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Angela.
Robert Owen is regarded as the founder of our co-operative movement. He believed that character is formed by environmental influences such as educational opportunities on the one hand and by poor working conditions on the other. His vision was for villages of co-operation, a new world order of mutual help and social equality, and his followers were called co-operators or socialists. I am very proud that Robert Owen was born on 14 May 1771 in Newtown, Powys, in my beautiful country of Wales.
The Co-op Group traces its roots back to the start of modern co-operation in Rochdale in 1844, and 177 years later the Co-op Group continues to put its members and their passions at the centre of its business, with a focus on working with others—co-operating. Since its launch in 2016, the Co-op Group’s local community fund has provided approaching £100 million to more than 20,000 local good causes, making it one of the largest funding mechanisms for charities in the UK.
UK co-operators believe that too much power and wealth rests with a small number of investors, shareholders and executives. Decisions are often made for the benefit of the powerful and the wealthy and not for the benefit of communities, workers, consumers and the environment. I believe the answer lies in the Marcora law. I was fortunate to secure a Westminster Hall debate on 8 September about the co-operative purchase of companies. I urge the UK Government to learn from Italy, where the former Industry Minister, Giovanni Marcora, established the worker buy-out system more than 30 years ago.
The Marcora law was established in a period of economic crisis in the 1980s to encourage workers to become entrepreneurs, saving their jobs by taking their entitlements plus three years’ projected social security payments in a lump sum to invest in a new company, supported by Government loans and advice. Specifically, the Marcora law established a rotation fund for the promotion and development of co-operation, and a special fund for the protection of employment levels. It gives workers the pre-emption right to purchase their companies and, more importantly, the financial support to buy out all or parts of an at-risk business and to establish it as a worker-owned co-operative.
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I have spoken in these debates in the Chamber and in Westminster Hall as well. First, I thank the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) for setting the scene so well. He brought the issue to Westminster Hall some time ago and I spoke then, and I mean it honestly when I say that his presentation has been absolutely on the button.
I have often said that co-operatives, mutual societies and indeed credit unions are a phenomenal help to so many families throughout Northern Ireland—I obviously want to give a Northern Ireland perspective to the issue. I want to speak about the co-operatives in my constituency and the Newtownards Credit Union branch, which has been the salvation of many people I know in a difficult time.
I commend my hon. Friend the Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) and concur with his comments on LV= mutual, which the hon. Member for Wycombe also referred to. It is really important that those at the ground level of the co-operatives, mutuals and credit unions have some say in where they go. My local credit union has mentioned that it would do more for people if it was given the opportunity to do so.
I was happy read an article last week on affordable social housing in Northern Ireland that gave examples of how things can progress. In it the Northern Ireland Communities Minister indicated that the role that credit unions and others can play should be further explored. She said:
“If we are to achieve our objectives it is likely that a wider range of sources for financing will be needed such as charitable trusts and foundations, credit union loans, capital markets: from the sale of long-term bonds and developer contributions.”
The benefits of housing co-operatives, community-led housing and self-build initiatives
My hon. Friend is itemising the co-operatives in his local area, which can be replicated across the United Kingdom. Does he agree that as long as these groups, whether they are mutuals, co-operatives or credit unions, can demonstrate their professionalism and their adaptability in the modern marketplace, they are to be supported? They need to see the wider community rally behind them and get involved with them for the better future of all of our communities going forward.
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. Yes, I do agree. When we look at the breadth of the market, and who these organisations represent, it indicates support that goes above and beyond. There are cattle market co-operatives, farmers’ co-operatives, fishermen’s co-operatives, plus a few reasonably sized credit unions. The agricultural co-operatives, the credit unions and the market traders’ co-operative—bringing all those people together, as my hon. Friend said—are examples of co-ops that help to sustain an independent rural community and a way of life. They are an essential component of these communities and a lifeline for them.
These organisations are undoubtedly able to do more, when we consider that the Financial Conduct Authority estimates that 28 million people—more than half of UK adults—have some element of financial vulnerability. In February 2020, up to a third of adults had less than £1,000 in savings, and one in 10—about 5.6 million people—had been paying a high-cost loan with an annual interest rate above 100% at some point in the preceding 12 months. What co-operatives, mutuals and credit unions do is enable their members to borrow at rates that they can afford to pay back. It is not like going to a payday loan company or others in the community who take advantage of people in their time of vulnerability. What these organisations offer is critical for the future.
Perhaps the Minister can give us some indication of any discussions he may have had with credit unions or co-operatives in Northern Ireland. I know I asked that earlier on, but it is always good to get a perspective here, in Westminster, where we are all under the great Union flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland together—we are all part of that.
There is an issue with lending, and it is my firm belief that credit unions could be a way of dealing with this issue. Further, more investment and help should be given to allow credit unions to push their products and abilities into more communities as a viable savings and loans option. With that, I will conclude by thanking the hon. Member for Wycombe for introducing this debate, and I look forward to the comments from the shadow Ministers and the contribution from the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard).
I intend to call the Front-Bench speakers no later 10.28 am.
10:08 am
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Co-operatives are great vehicles for creating and sustaining decent, rewarding and empowering livelihoods. For example, after five years of trading, the average worker co-operative in the UK supports six times more livelihoods and is almost twice as likely still to be trading as start-ups generally. According to a multi-country study, although they are currently far fewer in number than businesses generally, worker co-operatives are on average larger and employ more people. There are examples of co-operative entrepreneurship, for example the taxi drivers in Cardiff who clubbed together to set up their taxi-hailing co-operative, and of participation in existing freelancer co-operatives, such as the new co-operative mutual aid platform, We-Guild, or the creatives’ co-operative Chapel Street Studio.
Why are co-operatives so resilient? They have purpose, and their ownership and governance dictate long-termism. In an economic shock, it is the members making the tough decisions in their collective, long-term interests; it is not investors demanding lay-offs to protect short-term returns. Co-operatives also patiently build up and re-invest reserves and use members’ capital wherever possible, rather than piling on debt to achieve faster growth. My hon. Friend the Minister knows some of my views about excess debt creation.
I am conscious of time, and I want to give way to other Members, but I will say that at a time like this, when we need to recover to from coronavirus, co-operatives can be an ever more important part of our society in bringing people together and giving them a shared purpose and an equal stake in the business in which they work.
We should remember that entrepreneurship is a great search to help other people; that is what entrepreneurs seek to do. If people make a profit justly, without breaking the rules or exploiting others, that is a good thing. It shows that those people have served others, according to their assessment of what has been produced. I believe that that combination of mutual interest and service to others through a market means that co-operatives should be a crucial part of our society.
I am conscious of time, so I will wrap up. The Co-operatives UK brief makes a number of suggestions to the Government, including that there could be more co-operatives, and some particular policy suggestions. There are three themes: to have better tailored business support and enterprise finance for existing co-operatives, co-operative entrepreneurs and the conversion of existing businesses to become co-operatives; to have legislative and non-legislative action to provide a more enabling corporate framework, through law, regulation and processes; and to have tax support for investment in co-operatives and co-operative development. I will not go through the full brief, but Co-operatives UK intends to publish it after the debate.
I appreciate this opportunity to hear from Members from all parts of the House about co-operatives. We can all enthuse about co-operatives, even as we remain, as I am sure the Treasury will do, robustly pragmatic rather than romantic. As the Conservative party softens and become more inclusive and society minded in the 21st century, we ought to say that co-operatives and mutual societies are an important part of our society that should be fostered in everyone’s interests, particularly as we come back from coronavirus. We need to build up the mutual relations of interdependence on which we all rely.
I was interested to hear the points made by the hon. Member for Wycombe about whether LV= members should have gone with Bain Capital. Only time will tell whether that would have been a good move, but many of the building societies that demutualised and turned into banks were extremely vulnerable in the financial crisis some 15 or 20 years ago. I was a member of Leeds Building Society, and I tried to vote against demutualisation. In the end, I was given £2,000 and ended up with a bank I did not particularly want.
As has been mentioned, the trade body Co-operatives UK notes that about 1.5% of co-ops were dissolved in 2020, compared with 6.5% of businesses in general. Despite the pandemic, the number of independent co-ops has grown by 1.2% in 2020.
On the contributions of co-operatives to public life, the valuable and diverse sector has demonstrated its worth in meeting community need in the face of adversity, which it has done up and down the country in the last 21 months. I proudly note the co-operatives in my constituency of Preston, which led by example and contributed to the collective welfare of the local community during a time of great need. By investing in people from the start, co-operatives were able to defend workers’ wellbeing and livelihoods during the pandemic, while understanding the hardships that people faced and serving the community around them. Studies show that economies with a larger co-operative sector are more equitable, productive and accountable, with a narrower gap between rich and poor.
With all this evidence on the benefits of co-operatives, both before and during the pandemic, I wonder why there are not more of them. As the hon. Member for Wycombe said, in 2020 less than 1% of businesses were co-ops. Despite the evidence that they are nearly twice as likely as other types of businesses to survive their first five years, not nearly enough of them are being started. In the UK, more than 7,000 co-ops contribute roughly £40 billion to the economy, in spite of numerous financial and social barriers that hinder their ability to reach their full potential.
The Cooperazione Finanza Impresa—CFI—operates the Marcora law on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Italian Government. The CFI is an institutional investor and has been implementing the Marcora law since 1986. The Ministry holds a 98.6% share of the capital investment and has an overseeing role on the CFI board. The CFI has made investments of more than €300 million in 560 companies, saving the jobs of 25,000 workers and retaining the skills and experience of the Italian workforce. Hundreds of Italian businesses at risk of closure have been preserved as worker co-operatives, with a return of more than six times the capital invested by the CFI funding mechanism. Our UK Co-operative party public polling shows that 64% believe that the economy would benefit if workers could buy their businesses when they were at risk of closure.
During my debate, I urged the UK Government to introduce legislation that would give workers an adequate opportunity to request ownership during business succession and to provide an early-warning system to warn workers in advance of insolvency or when viable businesses are at risk of disposal. That would give workers the time and ability to assess the scope of acquisition and prepare a co-operative business model, and it would provide an opportunity to bid for a business at risk of shrinking or closure. A UK Marcora law would sustain businesses and help the UK shift to a fair and democratic economy through our co-operative values.
I asked the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), whether he would introduce a UK Marcora law and he told me that there were no plans but that the Government were open to proposals. Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, and his Welsh Labour Government were overwhelmingly re-elected last May on a Senedd election manifesto that pledged to provide greater support for worker buy-outs. Mark has stated many times that he will work with the co-operative sector and the Wales Co-operative Centre to double the number of worker-owned businesses in Wales, and he appointed Vaughan Gething, the Minister for Economy, with specific responsibilities for the co-operative sector in Wales.
In Wales, we are proud to have the Wales Co-operative Centre, set up by the Wales Trades Union Congress in 1982 to provide business support to co-operatives in Wales. The centre’s research shows a business succession timebomb. Small and medium-sized enterprises make up 99% of businesses and 62% of private sector employment in Wales, but 43% do not have a succession plan and only 12% of family firms make it to the third generation. One in five SMEs faces the prospect of closure or succession in the next five years, with 29% under the same ownership for the past 21 years. So 15,000 business owners may be leaving their businesses. That is one of the reasons a UK Marcora law is so important: to save family businesses.
My friend Huw Irranca-Davies, MS for Ogmore and a former MP, who is chair of the Senedd co-operative group, introduced an employee ownership Bill to the Welsh Parliament to give workers support to buy out their workplace if it is at risk of failure. It received cross-party support in principle in the Senedd from Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats. Huw will now meet Welsh Government Ministers to see how to progress his Bill.
While I was disappointed with the response from the Under-Secretary of State to my debate of 8 September, a few days later I had a lovely surprise. I received a letter from Camillo De Berardinis, the CEO of the CFI, saying that he had watched my speech in the Westminster Hall debate and that he was inviting me to be the guest speaker at the 35th anniversary of the CFI on 16 November to celebrate the commitment of all the Italian workers who had bravely tackled the crisis of the company they worked for and successfully recovered it. I was honoured to accept that invitation. It was virtual, by the way; I did not manage to get to Italy, but there we go.
The Minister will be pleased to know that I will not be giving up campaigning to have a UK Marcora law. On 11 January, I will introduce a ten-minute rule Bill entitled the co-operatives employee company ownership Bill. I know the Minister is very magnanimous and he does listen, so, to conclude, does he now have any plans to introduce a UK Marcora law?
She is absolutely on the button, and she is right in what she says.
In a debate on affordable housing we had in this Chamber last week, I mentioned the good work of community-led housing and self-build initiatives. The good that could be done must be more widely investigated throughout the United Kingdom, and I urge the Minister—he always responds in a constructive way to our requests—to work collaboratively with the devolved Administrations to unlock further the best-kept secrets of credit unions. He has spoken about credit unions before, and we have had conversations about them both outside and inside the Chamber.
A lovely article in the Financial Times succinctly sums up what co-operatives, mutuals and credit unions are really about:
“The history of non-profit lenders has been intertwined with civil rights movements in the UK and abroad since the second half of the 20th century, as campaigners, religious groups and philanthropists sought to help marginalised groups gain greater access to financial services… Credit unions act like community-focused banks, using deposits from members’ savings accounts to fund low-cost loans with interest rates capped at 1 per cent per month in Northern Ireland and 3 per cent per month in the rest of the UK—about 43 per cent APR.”
In the past, I was fortunate to have one of the Minister’s colleagues—he was then a Minister but he is not now—visit Northern Ireland and particularly the credit unions. His input on that visit was incredibly helpful. We visited the credit union in Newtownards and met the man in charge, George Proctor. He has built up the membership—both adults and young people—phenomenally and it has become a major go-to when it comes to being a voting member and being able to borrow money whenever people need it.
The credit union sector is large and has grown in recent years. There was about £1.6 billion in outstanding loans at the end of 2020—up 19% since 2016—but the sector also faces challenges in keeping up with regulations and changing customer expectations of services such as online banking. The number of UK credit unions fell by more than a fifth in the same period, as smaller unions closed and were taken over by larger groups. Although the numbers are down, the clientele has kept steady and has risen. Credit unions are an essential component in any rural area and town, as they offer people the ability to save money, to borrow money, when needed, at a small interest rate, and to repay that money at an affordable rate, with no stress. Suddenly, the boiler breaking down three weeks before Christmas does not result in a nightmare but can be quickly and efficiently dealt with by using local credit unions.
I am fortunate to have 13 registered credit unions and co-operatives in my constituency, and I will name each one for the purposes of Hansard: Downpatrick Co-operative Marketing Ltd, Northern Ireland Fish Producers’ Organisation Ltd, the Ballynahinch Credit Union Ltd, Portaferry Credit Union Ltd, Newtownards Credit Union Ltd, Newtownards Royal British Legion Club Ltd, BDS Credit Union Ltd, Ards Saturday Market Traders’ Co-operative Ltd, Comber Community Credit Union Ltd, Strangford Down Ltd, Northern Ireland Horse Board Co-operative Society Ltd, North Eastern Lobster Fishermen’s Co-operative Society Ltd, Ballywalter Youth and Community Co-operative, and Comber Earlies Growers Co-Operative Society Ltd. All of those, at different levels and with different financial resources, represent a large number of people.
Co-operatives and Mutual Societies · Order Paper · Order Paper