Work and Skills Plans A shared endeavour Alice Bradley Communities and Local Government

2 Where did this come from? You DWP and CLG asked Councillor Stephen Houghton to conduct a review into the local authority role into tackling workless The review recommended a greater role for local partnerships in tackling worklessness incorporating more responsibility for coordinating, commissioning and managing employment and skills services The report also argued the need for a strengthened business planning and accountability framework for local and sub-regional partners

3 Who has to do a Plan, and by when? This is an interim year Any local authority that has successfully bid for the Future Jobs Fund will need to complete a Work and Skills Plan by April 2010 Those seeking freedoms and flexibilities through the ESB or MAA process should use a Work and Skills Plan to set out their case We will consider making plans mandatory for April 2011

4 Making it work - a shared priority 89% of LAAs have identified a worklessness target and 83% a skills target. The target on NEETs was the most common indicator selected in the LAAs 61 local authorities receive a share of the £1.5bn WNF Over half the 100,000 FJF jobs awarded so far are being delivered by Local Authority partnerships - most of these bids have been submitted by sub-regional partnerships - MAAs or City Region groupings Through LGA pledged to double the number of apprenticeship in Local Government

5 Worklessness Assessments Part of the Local Economic Assessment New local economic assessments should bring local data and understanding together within a shared common evidence base policy making at all levels (regional/sub-regional/local) needs to be based on a shared understanding of local economic conditions, opportunities & challenges Local authorities need to understand their functional economic geography – looking beyond their boundaries to understand economic linkages with wider region/sub-region But they also need to understand spatial priorities – those areas and communities most at risk Where strong economic links are identified local authorities should collaborate in preparing assessments

6 Partnership is key to effective planning on worklessness

7 Work and Skills Plans Add value by: Creating transparency and local accountability as to how partners own resources are being used to deliver shared targets (targets that have already been established through the LAA or MAA processes); Identifying responsive and local actions required to supplement national employment and skills programmes; Better brigading efforts within an area, including a robust assessment of the gaps in national provision Supporting an informed conversation with Government Departments; sub-regional Employment and Skills Boards; Regional Development Agencies and other key partners on the future of employment and skills service delivery within their areas.