Allen Brett, Leader of the Council says: We need your co-operation please

Councillor Allen Brett, Leader of Rochdale Council

As the Greater Manchester lead for the voluntary, community and co-operative sector, I am committed to driving forward co-operative growth across the city region. As chair of the Co-operative Commission, I am pleased to have the support of my commissioners, who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of co-operation says, Councillor Allen Brett, Leader of the council and councillor for Milkstone and Deeplish.

The Commission has launched a call for evidence to gather examples and innovative ideas for building a stronger, fairer city-region where co-ops and social enterprises can thrive. At our first meeting in February we unanimously agreed, as a matter of urgency, we needed to explore how the sector can help deliver the ambitions set out in the Greater Manchester Strategy.

The co-operative movement is large and getting larger all the time. Over 160,000 people across Greater Manchester are already members of a co-operative, which collectively contribute £73million to the national economy. However, there is more we can do. The commission agreed there was significant opportunity to encourage co-operative business in the housing, transport, care and digital sectors.

Rochdale is the birthplace of co-operation, and it gives me immense pride we were at the forefront of a sector that is evolving and expanding all the time. The founding principles and values are still relevant today and should be used to encourage greater collaboration. Through co-operation we can reclaim the traditions of community action, community engagement and civic empowerment which can transform communities and services

We want to hear from established co-operative businesses to find out their experience of starting up, getting on, any barriers that stood in their way and how they overcame them. This information will help us to make it easier for others to follow in their footsteps and increase the number of co-operative organisations in the region.

• Share your co-operative experiences and ideas through the Co-operative Commission Call for Evidence: www.gmconsult.org/strategy-team/coop-commission/
• Members of the Co-operative Commission: www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/communities/commissioner-biographies/
• Values and principles of co-operatives: www.uk.coop/the-hive/is-a-co-op-right-for-you/getting-started/co-op-movement/values-principles
• The Greater Manchester Strategy: www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/ourpeopleourplace