The coalition government wants to encourage health care providers to consider employee ownership, and the development of mutuals, with the aim of creating ‘the largest and most vibrant social enterprise sector in the world’ (Department of Health 2010a, p 36). These plans are part of a broader programme of public service reform, moving away from state ownership to greater diversity in how public services are run in pursuit of the
Big Society. This builds on the previous government’s interest in mutualism in the public sector, and signals a continued commitment to explore alternatives to state ownership and for-profit private provision of public services.