Agenda item

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Economy submits a report providing an overview of the development of a Get Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Working Plan.

The Commission agreed to an agenda variance.  The item on Get LLR Working Plan was taken before the update on the Leicester and Leicestershire Business Skills Partnership.

Councillor Rae Bhatia joined the meeting at the opening of this item.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Economy submitted a report providing an overview of the development of a Get Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Working Plan.

The Regeneration Programmes & Projects Manager joined the meeting to assist with the discussion of this item.

The Chair encouraged members to read the Government White paper ‘Get Britain Working’, as it had some interesting aims in helping people start work or return to work and to remove barriers to getting into work such as health issues and lack of opportunity.

The report was presented and key points included:

• The Government agenda was aimed at addressing the challenges in the area for economically inactive people.
• This was a 10-year plan, so there would be time within the plan for review as the area may change.
• The timescale from the government was very tight for the preparation of the initial plan, so the Council were pushing forward in developing the plan as much as possible in the timescale.
• A taskforce had been established in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Integrated Care Board (ICB), Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council.
• It was aimed to raise the employment level to 80% in the region over time.  At this point in time, this would require supporting 35,000 people in the region into work.
• Table 1 of the report showed current employment statistics for the region.
• Table 2 of the report showed that the majority of economically inactive people were looking after family or were long-term sick or had mental health issues or muscular-skeletal issues.
• Retirement had increased.
• The number of people leaving school without skills was an issue to note.
• Labour market analysis sat behind the priorities laid out in the report.
• It was necessary to map service provision so that alignment could be explored, and it was important to engage with wider partners and organisations
• It was necessary to identify priorities and goals in the plan, along with key actions, in the first year.  Other necessary actions would most likely be identified throughout the process, and the plan would include a regular review of progress.
• An initial outline summary of the plan was prepared for the end of June It was aimed to produce a draft of the plan in the coming days and aiming for approval and publication by the end of September 2025. 

The Commission were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• It was necessary to recognise that there was a challenge to get a plan together in the tight timescale required by DWP.  It was necessary to note that this was a live piece of work and had not yet been completed. Scrutiny comments would be helpful to inform the plan at this stage.
• Work was being undertaken to gather data, and different organisations had different data with no organisation having the complete picture, therefore, it was necessary to try and assemble a clear picture from the data available.
• The final document would be presented to the Business Skills Partnership Executive shortly.  The DWP requires the plan to be signed off by the Upper Tier local authorities and the ICB. 
• A number of actions were necessary, including bringing together a network on how to approach delivery of the plan, perhaps though a working group to address issues.
• It was stressed that this plan was the start of a process rather than an end.  It was trying to build a shared view of what the labour market looked like, and an awareness of what potential interventions in the labour market could be.  This would come down to choices on priorities and focus and lobbying the government for resources to deliver.
• The government wanted areas to have a plan, and this would need to be followed through with resources.  The DWP wanted this as a 10-year plan, so there was a long-term focus.
• Part of the plan would be delivered by the new Connect to Work programme across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, funded by the DWP, aimed at supporting economically inactive people of all ages into work.  This would support people going into employment and would include inclusive recruitment practices for employers.  People would also be supported once they were in work to help them stay in work.
• The WorkWell programme was working with GP surgeries to identify people in employment but on long-term sickness absence, to support the long-term sick to return to work.  This was managed by the ICB and NHS.
• It would be good if these related programmes could be aligned, and the Council was facilitating this and working together for example to coordinate referrals.
• Data did not exist for all of the information about the labour market that might be useful; however, progress had been made in gathering data which might identify potential for further research.  The plan incorporated the information known, but other areas for research could come to light.
• The Get Britain Working white paper had commented on hidden pockets of unemployment, such as people who had decided not to look for work for a variety of reasons.  Some of these people could potentially get back into productive work with the right support. 
• Getting people into work could help reduce the welfare bill and also raise people’s quality of life.
• It would be important to work closely with employers to identify companies who wanted to engage with these cohorts of people and provide opportunities.
• The draft plan could be shared with members of the Commission, and members were invited to submit comments to inform the final plan.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.

3)    For the draft plan to be shared with members of the commission and comments be invited