Social Services Europe: Taking stock and what is next on the Social Business Agenda? Luk Zelderloo President of Social Services Europe Secretary General of EASPD What is Social Services Europe? - a platform bringing together 9 Europe-wide networks of not-for profit social and health care services; - Represents over 100,000 services promoting social inclusion and cohesion; - Represents a sector employing around 10% of the EU workforce, an important part of which are Social Entreprises. 1
What are our Objectives? - Long-term commitment to supporting vulnerable people and generating social cohesion through innovative and cost-effective solutions; - Ensure that the specificity of not-for-profit social and healthcare service providers is recognised - Ensure that economic, social and legal conditions exist for high-quality, sustainable, accessible and affordable social and health care services How do Social Service providers contribute to sustainable growth? - Not-for-profit Social services are key actors in the social enterprise sector - The quality, accessibility and affordability of social services are key to counteracting social exclusion and poverty, as well as helping people to find ways to improve their lives. - Public money directed at social service providers shouldn t be considered as a cost, but recognised as an investment. - Indeed, in addition to social return, social investment also has positive economic outcomes as changes to the situation of service users can have positive and lasting results. 2
Social Investment Package (SIP) - We welcome the fact that SIP recognised the paradigm shift that social investment brings social and economic return over time. - However, We also note the clear contradiction between the promotion of social investment & austerity as appropriate response to the economic crisis. - We are concerned that the overall orientation of SIP is overly focusing on employment, rather than also on social rights and well-being. - Overall, We believe that the SIP is the first step in a longer-term process of re-balancing social and economic governance in the EU. Public Procurement directive - We welcome the recognition of the «specific characteristics» of, as well as the special regime for, social services of general interest as two of the most notable differences in the Directive. - We also welcome the increased emphasis on quality, especially with regard to the Voluntary European Quality Framework for Social Services which encourages public authorities to set up tendering procedures that ensure the respect of certain quality requirements. - Although we welcome the overall assessment of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) as the main award criterion, We are disappointed about the formulation which encourages authorities to follow this criteria rather than obliges. 3
Social Innovation - Key to ensuring future of Social Enterprises, creating both new jobs and effective responses to social needs and upcoming challenges - Through our commitment and experience, our members play an important role in ensuring that resources allocated to social innovation are best used to make progress towards Europe 2020 targets. - As such, Social service providers - Should be supported through access to funding streams and capacity building schemes through EUPSCI Programme, Structural Funds, etc. - Should be recognised in this role at EU, national, regional and local level and be involved as partners in programmes supporting social innovation (Horizon 2020, Cohesion Policy, PROGRESS, etc) and involved in any EU level activities TTIP - Opening up access to Public Procurement transnationally beyond EU borders- could be hugely damaging to the quality of social and health services. - The social safeguards included in the Public Procurement directive could be considered as non-tariff barriers to trade and therefore challenged and struck down. - Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement will strongly limit willingness of governments to pass legislation to protect or improve Europe s social standards in the future, through threat of having to pay billions in compensation. - New Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), currently being negotiated in secret by 23 members of the WTO and CETA pose similar dangers. 4
Creating the right political, financial and legal framework - Speak up for the added value of the Social sector: - creates sustainable growth, and - fights social exclusion and poverty. - The EC should commission a study to make this added value more recognised, visible and tangible Creating the right political, financial and legal framework - Incentives for well performing organisations/models delivering quality social services: additional funding, tax cuts, facilitate exchange between best practices. - Encourage innovation in social sector by focusing more on output, rather than on input. - Easing access to financing by providing funding before the outcome is delivered rather than after (incl. Structural funds) 5
SSE Policy Recommendations: - Calls the EU to produce a Communication establishing the right political, legal and financial framework to ensure that the Social and Health Services sector maximises its potential to create millions of jobs and help fight poverty and social exclusion in Europe - Calls the EU and Member States to guarantee the quality, accessibility and affordability of social services throughout Europe; most notably by protecting the specificity of the sector in public procurement and state aid. The EU can do so by further promoting the Voluntary European Quality Framework for Social Services. - The Commission should ensure guidance to Member States about the transposition of the 2014 Public Procurement directive, clearly explaining the possibilities in the legislation to enable long-term financing of quality social services, how to ensure quality in the contracting process and highlight the conditions for other options for the contracting of services than through procurement. - Calls the EU to exclude social services completely from the TTIP negotiations, as well as from CETA and TiSA. Main Conclusions! - Social Services sector is a key actor in the Social Enterprise Economy - As such: - we should be further involved in any future steps taken by European, National, Regional or local authorities on the Social Business Agenda. - The EC should recognise and support the diversity of social enterprises - At European level, this could start by us being represented in the Expert Group on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES), starting from 2015. 6