This is what you can do:-

• Write or email your local authority to ask if they offer payroll deduction facilities for their staff for credit unions and if they encourage staff to join.
• If your own employer does not offer payroll deduction for your credit union, ask them to.  If you can engage your trade union to support and lead this, even better.
• You can find a list of addresses of the largest Wales-based firms here.

If you don’t live in Wales, don’t worry, you can take action too!

Watch the advert here:

This weekend, the Co-operative Party is launching its vision for local government in Wales at an event at the Welsh Labour Conference. Four council candidates in the coming elections in Wales explain why co-operative ideas are so critical this May.

Download A Co-operative Agenda for Welsh Local Government.

As Labour Co-operative candidates in the Welsh council elections, we believe in an economy that works for people, not just profit. The current economic situation facing the whole UK is a huge threat to the fabric of our communities, but it also offers an opportunity for us to put co-operation at the heart of everything we do. Local government may be facing spending constraints, but we must continue to press for fairer, more accountable and more equitable local services. Only Labour with the help of the Co-operative Party can deliver the change that Welsh people want to see.

Wales faces a unique set of circumstances that make the opportunity for a co-operative approach starker. A Labour government in the Senedd committed to co-operative approaches; a vibrant co-operative sector worth £1 billion; and of course devolved powers that protect Wales from some of the worst excesses of the Tory-led government in Westminster and allow us to develop co-operative ideas.

The co-operative movement came into existence in hard economic times because ordinary people were able to come together and share their resources for common good. Then, as now, the co-operative movement was profoundly democratic with all members able to contribute equally. We want councillors, Co-operative Party members and Labour Party members to use the ideas in this manifesto in the same spirit as the early co-operators. Not all the policies will be appropriate for all Labour groups or Labour councils, but this manifesto provides ideas and resources which can provide a starting point for developing local co-operatives and services with co-op values. We would like to see these approaches come together into a Welsh version of the ‘Co-operative Council’ – and some of the ideas on this are spelt out below.

Co-operative Councils, co-operative housing and co-op values across society – we believe that this manifesto offers an exciting co-operative alternative for Welsh communities.

In co-operation:

Lis Burnett, Vale of Glamorgan
Dylan Lewis, Ceredigion
Stephen Marshall, Newport
Phil Bale, Cardiff

Download A Co-operative Agenda for Welsh Local Government. The launch will be at the Co-operative Party and Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales Fringe meeting at Welsh Labour Conference, 5.30pm, Saturday 18 February 2012, Room 22, Swalec Stadium. Speakers – Alun Michael MP, Huw Lewis AM, Ashley Simpson, Derek Walker, Karen Wilkie, Alex Bird. Chair – Cllr Cerys Furlong.

There will also be a Labour Welsh Executive paper on Co-operative Councils debated at the conference, and a workshop on co-operative councils at 9.30am on Sunday.

Mike Hedges, Member of the National Assembly for Wales for Swansea East, looks at how co-operative solutions can address the need for quality affordable housing in Wales.

With the average age of first-time buyers being 37 and expected to rise to 40, it’s perfectly clear that the current housing system needs to be changed. Hefty deposits, the difficulty in securing affordable mortgages from lenders, and the overall lack of good quality housing are among the main reasons that have attributed to the continuous rise in the average age of first-time buyers.

For many people, the dream of buying their first home has been put on the backburner, and the only remaining options are to either move back in with their parents or to rent a property for over a long period of time with the aim of saving up enough money for a deposit. Despite this, the idea of home ownership still remains the ultimate goal for the vast majority of people in the UK.

The UK has, after all, been traditionally dominated by two types of housing tenure models, namely that of owner occupation with or without a mortgage and that of rented accommodation either privately or from a social landlord. In other parts of the World however, there is a third form of housing tenure which seems to be growing rapidly in support; this being housing co-operatives.

Under a housing co-operative tenure, members of that co-operative have the collective power to manage the accommodation between them. This involves taking responsibility for duties such as arranging repairs, maintaining the property, and making decisions about the rent. As the decisions are made by the members, the principles of both community ownership and democracy are placed at the very heart of housing co-operative models.

There are strong co-operative housing sectors in countries ranging from Sweden, Norway,Canada, Austria and Turkey, to name but a few.  In Sweden for example, two large co-operative organisations provide over 750,000 homes which equates to around 18% of the total population of the country living in co-operative housing. In Canada, which began developing housing co-operatives in the early 1970’s, there are now over 400,000 living in Co-operative homes.

To put these figures into a domestic  perspective, there are more co-operative housing homes in just Vancouver alone than in the whole of the UK, with housing experts estimating that less that 1% of people in the UK live in a housing co-operative.

The idea of introducing and developing housing co-operatives in the UK is not a new one. In fact, the idea was previously considered by the former Conservative Government of John Major back in 1992. The then Government asked the management consultants, Price Waterhouse Coopers, to investigate both whether or not housing co-operatives generated a greater level of personal and social benefits in comparison to traditional housing tenure provisions, and also whether housing co-operatives would create affordable, long-term solutions for the housing market.

The investigation lead to a report being published by the Conservative Government in 1995 entitled “Tenants in Control: an evaluation of tenant-led housing management organisations”, which, to the astonishment of many, concluded that co-operative housing models not only were cost-effective but also provided their members with a vast number of benefits.

Subsequent reports and investigations into housing co-operative models have since reinforced the findings of the originally PwC report, as well as identified other potential benefits for its members.

For instance, being part of a housing co-operative gives members the opportunity to use existing skills or even develop new skills. They provide members with a stake and vested interest in where they live and can help reduce any dependency tenants have on landlords or the state itself.

In terms of the social benefits, housing co-operatives can help promote community cohesion and integration as well we play a role in reducing vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the surrounding area. In some cases, other community services such as child care and social activities for members arose from being part of a housing co-operative.

On a further note, housing co-operatives give tenants control over the property rents, building services and contractors, and also over any rent arrears. Any surpluses made by the housing co-operative can then be reinvested into the property, depending on the will of the membership.

Despite these considerable benefits, the question inevitably remains as to why we are not seeing co-operative housing models implemented and developed in our communities?

The simple answer to this question is down to our arcane feudalist land and property laws which still exist today. Under the current system, there is what can be described as an “inherent conflict of interest” presumption between the rights of a tenant and the property owner, and as such, does not recognise or take into account housing co-operative tenures, where property is owned jointly by members of that co-operative. The presumption of a “conflict of interest” would hence be absent in a housing co-operative model, as the principles of democracy and commonality of interest are placed at the centre of the model.

In my opinion, the current land and property laws with the in-built perception of tenure feudalism are not only out-dated but present a major obstacle to the establishment and development of the housing co-operative sector in this country. Despite the current situation, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The Welsh Government’s Minister in charge of housing, Huw Lewis AM, has made it absolutely clear on a number of occasions that he intends to pursue a robust co-operative housing agenda in Wales to help address the housing shortage our country faces, and to do this, the Minister accepts that there must be a change in the current system.

It’s also worth acknowledging the outstanding work being done across the border by the Labour Co-op MP, Jonathan Reynolds, in the form of his Co-operative Housing (Tenure) Bill, which was brought before Parliament in October 2011. This promising Bill, which was introducing under the Ten Minute Rule, seeks to end the feudal nature of laws that govern land and property ownership in England by creating a co-operative model as a new form of tenure. The Bill has received the backing from a number of prominent MPs, including David Miliband, and is due to return to the House of Commons for a second reading on 30th March 2012.

Let’s hope that the UK Coalition Government pick up where John Major’s Government failed and show some real decisiveness and action by getting behind this tremendously worthwhile Bill, which will help towards tackling the distinct lack of good quality housing in England.

What’s clear is that more work has to be done, especially in these difficult financial times, to help people get a foothold on the property ladder at an early age. It’s my belief that the time has come to reach beyond the “traditional” and “conventional” housing tenure options by looking at other alternatives and options to satisfy our housing needs.

Co-operative and mutual housing models provide us with a viable, sustainable solution that has the potential to radically change the way we view and think about housing altogether.

Three things will need to be done in order for us to see housing co-operatives in our communities. First of all, there needs to a change in the current law to make the creation of housing co-operatives easier; secondly, lenders need to be convinced of the security of their lending which may entail a Welsh Government underwrite, and thirdly; housing co-operatives along with the potential benefits they produce need to be promoted and publicised so that people will be enthused into creating and joining them. None of these points are achievable without the political will to achieve it.

With the National Assembly for Wales’ new primary law making powers, changing the law to establish and promote a legally separate co-operative housing tenure is now feasible. We have a determined Welsh Housing Minister that is committed to driving the housing co-operative agenda forward, and I have no doubt that if one person can make this idea of co-operative housing a reality, then Huw Lewis is certainly that person.

The year 2012 is the official UN International Year of Co-operatives; what better way to celebrate and mark this significant occasion than by reforming our out-dated land laws and giving co-operative housing models the legal recognition they deserve on the statute books. Whilst co-operative housing will not solve all of the housing problems Wales faces, I believe it will certainly be a respectable start.

Mike Hedges is the Labour Assembly Member for Swansea East

We will be launching our Co-operative Agenda for Welsh Local Government at the Co-operative Party and Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales Fringe meeting, 5.30pm, Saturday 18 February 2012, Room 22, Swalec Stadium.

Speakers – Alun Michael MP, Huw Lewis AM, Ashley Simpson, Derek Walker, Karen Wilkie, Alex Bird. Chair – Cllr Cerys Furlong

There will also be a Labour Welsh Executive paper on Co-operative Councils debated at the conference, and a workshop on co-operative councils at 9.30am on Sunday.

Co-operative Party Youth Wales is holding a social event for all young members to attend on Saturday evening after Welsh Labour Conference. We will start our first social event off at “The Gatekeeper Wetherspoons” on Westgate Street, Cardiff at around 8.00pm – 8.30pm and then take the night forward from there! The pub is directly opposite the main entrance to the Millennium Stadium. For more info email Steve Cushen on coop.youth.wales@hotmail.co.uk.

A new Welsh model for political action to change communities and councils….and to do things together.

At the core of the “Welsh Co-operative Council” concept is a determination to reclaim the founding traditions of the Labour and Co-operative Movements.

The emphasis is on collective action and co-operation, and on empowerment and enterprise.  The purpose is to transform local services, value our people and strengthen local communities.

The essence of a “Welsh Co-operative Council” is to transform the relationship between the leadership of the Council (councillors and executive) both with the public and with those who work with the Council – to engage everyone, working in partnership, to deliver the Labour vision for our people.

The “Co-operative Council” concept is supported by the Wales Co-operative Centre and by the Co-operative Group in Wales as well as Welsh Labour and the Wales Council of the Co-operative Party.

The intention is to help the local Labour Party in each part of Wales to put  forward policy ideas and initiatives designed to meet the needs of local communities and to deliver the services they need. We all need to help our communities avoid the worst of the UK coalition’s brutal cuts while taking forward the co-operative and mutual initiatives set out in the Welsh Labour manifesto in 2011.

Co-operative approaches can also be applied to almost every aspect of local government, including community regeneration and economic development, youth services, housing, leisure, social services and education. The details will vary from service to service and from county to county, but everywhere the approach is to work together, build self reliance, encourage innovation.

But the new approach is not about turning all services into cooperatives, nor about replacing skilled professionals with volunteers. It’s simply that where services are under threat and resources are tight it makes sense to preserve quality by exploring the benefit of public service mutuals as the alternative to privatisation or administrative bureaucracy.

The Co-operative Group has stressed its belief that “the principles on which mutuals are founded have a particular resonance in the public sector where there is an underlying sense of public purpose”.  Co-operative and mutual models allow councils to retain jobs and investment locally, are ethical, are more flexible around citizen and worker needs, and contribute to aspects of the local economy.

If you want to explore this idea and help us work together to ensure that local elected representatives, the communities who need public services, and those who work to provide services are all linked in a system of mutual respect, shared values and teamwork then get in touch.

The Co-operative Council kite-mark will identify Labour-led councils which give local people choice and control over the public services they use.  It is about listening to the voices of citizens and valuing the contribution of those who work for the local council.  The way different services work will vary, but the objective of finding new ways to hand more power, choice and control to local people is at the heart of the new approach.

As we develop Co-operative Councils in Wales we will seek to work with Carl Sargeant and the Assembly Labour Team – and to exchange experience and ideas with the Co-operative Councils Network which is being promoted by the Co-operative Party and was launched recently by Ed Miliband.  It now provides a forum for 18 Labour Councils in England and their councillors who are adopting this approach and sharing new thinking by working together.

Want to know more?

You can learn more by contacting the Co-operative Party

• Alun Michael MP, Co-operative Party NEC Member for Wales Alun.Michael.MP@Parliament.UK
• Anna Turley, Co-operative Party & Co-operative Councils Network annaturley@me.com

….. or visit the website: http://www.councils.coop/

• Karen Wilkie, Deputy General Secretary, Co-operative Party   k.wilkie@party.coop

2012 gives us a great opportunity to mark a new era for the mutual and co-operative traditions of Welsh Labour !

Labour & Co-operative Members of the Welsh Assembly came together today to formally launch the new nine-strong Assembly Group – the largest in the history of the Assembly – and give their backing to the Party’s campaign to re-mutualise Northern Rock, The Feeling’s Mutual, ahead of the campaign ‘Day of Action’ on Saturday.

Co-operative Party Assembly Members have signed a statement of opinion supporting the remutualisation of Northern Rock:-

We the undersigned support the Co-operative Party’s campaign ‘the Feeling’s Mutual’ for Northern Rock to be returned to the mutual sector as a new building society.

We believe that mutual and co-operative financial services – such as the Co-operative Bank, building societies and credit unions – offer a stable and successful alternative. Financial mutuals are owned by their customers and so act in their long term interests.

Mick Antoniw AM, Chair of the Co-operative Assembly Group said,

“I welcome this Assembly Government’s commitment to co-operative finance, particularly the growing credit union movement.

“However, unless the UK government takes steps to re-build the mutual sector that was devastated under the Thatcher government they will continue to make the same mistakes that got us into the current financial crisis.”

As part of our Conference takeover for LabourList, Welsh Government Housing Minister and Co-operative Assembly Member Huw Lewis outlines his visionary plans for housing co-operatives in Wales

With nine Labour and Co-operative Assembly Members elected in May, including two cabinet ministers, a deputy minister and a committee chair – never has the co-operative movement been better represented at the heart of decision making in Wales.

But while that success is remarkable, too often in the past the Co-operative Party have brought forward well developed, well received, radical yet practicable policies, only for them to be kicked into the long grass, or simply left to gather dust on a shelf in Whitehall or Cathays Park.

Ideas of co-operation and mutuality have always shaped me politically, and I want to seize this moment, and forge a radical new direction for housing policy in Wales that draws on that co-operative spirit.

I want to create a new housing sector in Wales, no less, and make us the first of the home nations to pilot and develop housing based on the Co-operative Party’s New Foundations model.

It works by separating the value of land from the purchase price of properties built on it through the means of a Community Land Trust (CLT). Unlike traditional home ownership, homes built on the CLT are financed by a corporate loan borrowed by a co-operative. Residents make monthly payments, based on an affordable percentage of their monthly income – with the flexibility to increase or decrease according to their current circumstances; so that payments could be reduced if a resident became unemployed, for example.

Unlike in the private rental sector, if a resident decided they wished to leave the co-operative, they would be entitled to take the equity share they had with them, with a ‘fair valuation formula’ ensuring that homes remain affordable in perpetuity and that any public subsidy is locked in and not lost.

By offering investors safe, guaranteed yield investments, an added advantage of New Foundations is its potential to attract institutional investors, pension funds for example, to invest cash back into the Welsh economy.

Of course this will also require a deeper societal change: the ready availability of cheap mortgage finance during the boom years made it seem almost old fashioned to view a home primarily as a place to live, rather than as a financial investment.

And we’ll also need to a change the law. As anyone in the housing sector will tell you, legal definitions of tenure are complex and usually medieval in origin, and while it may seem an arcane point, we will have to work hard to establish a watertight legal definition of co-operative tenure, when final proposals are brought forward as part of the Housing Bill.

This isn’t about trying to replace any of the existing models of home ownership or tenancy, or ceasing to do any of the good things we’ve been doing in Wales since devolution. In fact I want to see partners from across the housing sector engaged: banks and building societies, the construction industry and registered social landlords will all have an important role to play in making this work.

I believe we have to provide a genuine alternative to people who are simply not being served by the status quo. We must offer hope to the many thousands of people in Wales who today find themselves locked out of the housing market at both ends – stuck in a limbo between the social rented sector and individual home ownership.

We need to face up to the fact that the credit crunch broke a system which was already failing.

This represents only a beginning, but we might just be witnessing the early stages of a co- operative housing revolution here in Wales.

Five successful credit unions have merged from a position of strength to offer more services to even more people.

Far from being forced into merger out of necessity, which is often the perception of mergers, these credit unions saw a huge opportunity to expand their services by working together.

“The formation of North Wales Credit Union is a landmark for the credit union sector in Britain,” said Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive of ABCUL. “The merger demonstrates the importance of credit unions working together to deliver a wider range of services and provide the consistently high quality of service necessary to attract a mix of members.”

Credit unions around the world have shown that, to be successful, they need to serve as broad a range of consumers as possible – not just those on the lowest incomes – and to achieve this they must collaborate.

The merger will enable the new credit union to deliver improved levels of service, with a wider network of offices and collection points, improved opening hours, higher savings limits and larger loans. In addition, it will be able to offer a broader range of services, such as insurance, budgeting and financial planning, as well as extending access to the Credit Union Current Account.

The new credit union has received the backing of the Welsh Government, as they believe it will enable many more people to access local financial services.

Speaking at the launch, Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Local Government and Communities, said: “Tackling poverty and social exclusion where it persists in our communities is one of my key priorities over the next five years. Credit unions are ideally placed to help achieve this.

“To do so, credit unions need to be financially viable and sustainable in their own right. Greater collaboration between credit unions has clear advantages – to the credit unions themselves, their members and the wider communities. Where appropriate, merger between credit unions should be encouraged.

“The experience here in North Wales is a positive one and shows how a merger can work well.”

You can read the full article here

Often you will hear teachers joke that teaching would be a great job if it weren’t for the pupils. Well it can be a bit like that within co-operatives. Our members challenge and question what we do, which doesn’t always make life easy. But it does lead to better results.

Co-operatives work to meet the common needs and aspirations of their members whether they are employees, customers or the local community. We are not driven to maximise shareholder profit. Our member democracy ensures we remain true to our purpose.

Whoever said that Britain is no longer a nation of joiners was wrong. 13m people in the UK are members of a co-operative. Co-operatives work hard to nurture that membership because it is at the heart of what we are. With our 30^th anniversary coming up next year the Wales Co-operative Centre is launching a fresh drive to recruit new members. We want to reach to more people who are interested in supporting our vision for Wales to be the international leader for co-operative thinking and action.  Join us at www.walescooperative.org/membership