Since then the project steering group has been successful in securing grant funding support from Kirklees Council that will enable us to set up the co-operative. This is fantastic news, and we are very grateful to Kirklees Council for their generous and active support. We're now deep into the work of detailed business planning, with the objective of launching a service, probably under the banner of the Valley Care Co-operative or similar, either late this year or early next.

We have a strong and diverse project team with a valuable mix of relevant skills and experience, and there is a huge amount of work to do to get us to a successful launch, so if you feel you can help, don't hesitate to get in touch, by sending email to info@ksen.org.uk.

We've also benefited from advice and technical support ably provided by Mark Simmonds whose work has been funded by the Bright Ideas programme from Power To Change. And we have just learned that we have secured additional funding through that programme which will help us move further and faster over the coming months. We are currently planning a community share issue that will help fund the working capital needs of the business and this support will be vital in making that happen successfully.

We are in the midst of formally registering the co-operative as a Society for the Benefit of the Community, and planning further consultation and engagement events over the coming months. We are very keen to engage with as many people as we can as we approach our service launch, so we'll provide details of those events as soon as we have them finalised.

We're also on the lookout for suitable office premises in the Colne Valley, so do let us know if you know of anything that might be suitable.

Our vision is ambitious. Clearly we have to prove our ability by operating a successful social care service in the Colne Valley, but we are clear that the longer term goal is to replicate our business model, developing a network of small, locally owned and controlled care co-operatives providing high quality social care services to communities across Kirklees. It's a big challenge, but one that we believe is both achievable and hugely important. It is clear that the crisis in social care is only getting worse. We believe that the work we are doing can be part of a sustainable solution that puts people back in control.

We very much hope that we can rely on your support as we move forward with this exciting project.