Cabinet Office Launches Ambassadors Programme to Support Fledgling Mutuals

Fledgling and existing mutuals will be given a vital helping hand from 15 inspiring individuals, Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude announced today at the SOLACE Summit 2012. These leaders in their fields, part of the Mutuals Ambassadors Programme, will work free of charge to drive forward the public service mutuals movement.

Each Ambassador will work closely on the ground to deliver specific advice and support to emerging and existing mutuals. This will include troubleshooting specific concerns, sharing their commercial expertise, promoting public service mutuals and identifying upcoming new projects.

The Government has selected people from a wide variety of organisations, including local authorities, mutuals, professional services and business firms, to deliver effective support. All the individuals are leaders in their fields and at Chief Executive Officer or Director Level. Ambassadors include Andrew Burnell, CEO of City Healthcare Partnership, a public service mutual with 1,400 staff and a turnover of around £52 million; and Patrick Lewis, Managing Director of Partnership Services, of the John Lewis Partnership.

“The independent Mutuals Taskforce recommended in their last report that we should coordinate a network of Mutuals Ambassadors, and we have done just that. These new Ambassadors will play a key role in finding solutions to overcome barriers to upcoming and existing mutuals. We know there are thousands of frontline staff who know how the services they deliver can be run better, and the extra support we have announced today will help them to get there.”

 

Minister for Cabinet Office Francis Maude

In response to feedback from commissioners, today also sees the re-launch of this website, a dedicated resource for anyone interested in setting up or finding out more about public service mutuals. Commissioners have told us that they benefit from learning about the experiences of other mutuals that have already been through the process. As a result, a new interactive hub has been developed where commissioners can access case studies, ask questions on chat forums and read advice and guidance especially for commissioners.