1. Reducing Unemployment- an evidenced based approach Lesley Bradnam Economic Research & Policy Team Birmingham City Council

2. Context Kerslake Recommendation 11: Creation of a new locally-led partnership focussed on increasing employment and skills starting in the most deprived parts of Birmingham Youth Promise: initiatives to reduce youth unemployment, with the aim of having the lowest unemployment rate of all core cities.

3. Kerslake Recommendation 11 Multi-agency strategic partnership established. Desire for robust evidence base before geographic focus agreed Kerslake proposals based on worklessness –old ward boundaries – Washwood Heath Sparkbrook Hodge Hill Constituency - based on unemployment, worklessness & skills – and opportunity. Set up cross agency data group to undertake a re-run of top-level data associated with these broad outcomes, with a view to identifying areas on which to focus the pilot.

4. Kerslake Recommendation 11 Choice of geographical focus not just driven about by areas with highest unemployment/worklessness. Hodge Hill has areas of high worklessness but within constituency areas with very different characteristics. Enables range of pilots with different cohorts, and at different geographies. 11Recommendation 11

5. Kerslake Recommendation 11 Diversity of approach also important as it will be rolled out to wider geographies. Also opportunities in Hodge Hill– East Birmingham Prospectus/ HS2

6. Kerslake Recommendation 11 What happened? Evidence well received. More requested! Unemployment came down. Job Seekers Allowance claimants Source: DWP/NOMIS BCC ConstituencyJan 2015August 2015Difference Hodge Hill4,4533,948-505 Hall Green3,4023,206-196 Ladywood6,0665,700-366

7. Kerslake Recommendation 11 What’s next? Continued focus of mainstream provision in Hodge Hill – just as important as new initiatives. Workshops to determine ‘what works’ – local, national and international examples leading to piloting of innovative initiatives. Continued statistical input – monitor and inform.

8. Youth Promise Various definitions – but overall aim to move young people into training and work and thereby improve youth unemployment. Very different piece of work -youth unemployment already well evidenced. Development of Dashboard for Cabinet Member for Learning & Culture for easy overview of performance.

9. Youth Promise Challenge 1: to provide large amount of monitoring data in easy to understand format to ‘lay’ people. Challenge 2: collecting data from large number of teams across the council with different reporting periods. Challenge 3: distinguishing between outcomes and programme outputs. Challenge 4: showing how outputs from different projects can be aggregated.

10. Questions? Economic Research & Policy, Birmingham City Council www.birmingham.gov.uk/birminghameconomy birminghameconomy@birmingham.gov.uk @bhameconomy 0121 464 2114