A letter from ten of the social enterprise ambassadors published in today’s Guardian, says the report Public Services and the Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality “underestimates” social enterprises.

The report, chaired by Tony Wright MP, followed an 18-month inquiry. It said there was a gap between the rhetoric of “transformation of services” and the reality that the third sector’s involvement was still on small scale.

Wright added that sometimes the right provider would be the third sector, but commissioners had "to be able to identify that fact and act accordingly".

The ambassadors, including Dai Powell, CEO of community transport group HCT and Nigel Kershaw, head of Big Issue Invest, wrote that the report was “as heartening in its recognition of the breadth and variety of the sector as it was disappointing in its underestimate of our abilities.”

The letter goes on to say: “While we would agree that effective commissioning requires an understanding of the sector, it is crucial to realise that social enterprises in particular are willing and eager to compete on equal terms with private business.

"We know we can win business and deliver on criteria that are just as rigorous. Nothing will prove the case for our effectiveness faster than showing that we can not only match but do more than other providers," said the ambassadors.

The ten said it was already clear that commissioners were voting with their feet and finished the letter by suggesting the Commons public administration should “wake up and smell the fair-trade coffee”.