Ed Miliband, one of a clutch of up-and-coming ministers close to Gordon Brown, will today launch a new drive to boost "social enterprises" - private sector companies that have conventional trading operations but also re-invest much of their profits in activities that are ethical or assist the community.

Over recent years the number of social enterprises has grown significantly. According to government data, some 55,000 such companies are now in operation - about five per cent of all businesses - with a combined turnover of £27bna year.