Agenda item

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

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Economy submitted a report updating on ‘Get LLR Working’.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Economy provided an overview of the report, key points to note:

• The Director provided a background into the formal governance arrangements, agreeing ways of working with partners, ongoing discussions with partners on addressing labour market challenges and data analysis of the labour market across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
• It was noted that Leicester City Council would be the accountable body for the Get LLR Working ten-year plan.
• The Director also referred to the efforts to map existing provision for inactive cohorts involving health, skills and employment support. Further to this, identifying any duplication, gaps and opportunities for future action by the Council or collaborating partners.
• The overall aim was highlighted to improve the employment rates to 80%, it was noted that there are stark differences across the geography in districts and Leicester City.
• It was noted that 35,000 people need supporting into work across the LLR and highlighted that the Leicester City accounts for almost 31,000 of those individuals.
• The Director clarified that a new cross-LLR partnership has been developed from scratch over the past six months including partners in local authorities, DWP, health partners, Voluntary and Community Sector, Universities and Colleges as well as business representative organisations.
• A core working group will oversee delivery and review projects whilst wider engagement mechanisms will ensure broader stakeholder involvement as the plan evolves.
• The Regeneration Programmes and Projects Manager explained that the plan is intended to be a live, iterative document, providing a framework rather than a fixed set of final actions.
• Projected timelines were shared with the commission noting that the initial work would commence in late spring, a draft submission in June, final sign-off by October with publication by December 2026.

Members were invited to comment and ask questions; responses were as follows:

• A question arose whether there are resources currently allocated to deliver the plan, the Director responded that there are currently no additional national resources allocated specifically to deliver the full ambition of the plan, the plan is intended to provide a framework to support investment decisions and existing resources across partners are being aligned more effectively.
• A key funded element is the Connect to Work programme where £17.2m over five years funding from DWP would support economically inactive residents into work. Further resources from government would be required to full realise the long-term ambition.
• The Director responded to a question on the impact of Local Government Reorganisation on the plan, by informing the commission that despite potential changes in organisational structures the plan is designed to be flexible, adaptive and will evolve alongside governance changes as the core labour market challenges and partnership principles will remain relevant.
• The Director was asked about support for individuals intending to enter into local government employment and responded that Leicester City Council actively promotes apprenticeships and graduate routes across services. The Director informed that the City Council utilises the apprenticeship levy to support social care and other providers and noted over 1,000 apprentices have been supported over the past decade with annual graduation events recognising the achievement.
• A member asked why the economic inactivity was so high in Leicester, the Director informed of the various factors from the initial analysis and referenced health, long-term sickness and caring responsibilities as major drivers. It was also identified that female economic activity remains significantly lower than the national average and has been a long-standing issue. Commission members were reminded that the data provides a baseline, and further detailed analysis is required at the neighbourhood level.
• The Director responded to a question on why the plan involves Rutland and the wider county given that Leicester City has the most need, the Director explained that the geography was mandated by DWP and the LLR functions as a single economic area residents commute across boundaries. It was shared that Leicester City Council holds the lead role in the plan, ensuring the key city priorities are reflected and the scale of inactivity in Leicester City is recognised as a primary focus.

AGREED:

1. To provide further information to Councillor Porter on grants or other support available for individuals such as university leavers intending to start businesses.
2. A further report be brought to the Committee clarifying the relationship between initiatives aimed at reducing economic inactivity and trends in unemployment data, to enable the Committee to assess impact before reaching conclusions.

Councillor Rae Bhatia left the meeting at this point.