European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) 2014-2020
North East Local Enterprise Area (NELEP)
Social inclusion and combating poverty and any discrimination (SI)
Introduction
Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE) is working with Newskills Consulting to support Big Lottery Fund (BLF) and the NELEP to finalise the details of the four identified SI priorities. The aim is to ensure that the calls are responsive to local needs and priorities and that they align with both existing provision and other ESIF activity.
This work will build upon the report published by ekosgen[i] “The North East LEP – Inclusive Growth Report” in July 2013. The report concluded that the following groups experienced lower than expected economic outcomes in the NELEP area: women; BME; disabled; disadvantaged / deprived communities; LGBT; under 25s; over 50s and offenders. The report suggests that disadvantage is multi faceted involving the interplay of individual characteristics combined with external factors. People with protected characteristics often experience personal barriers which include: health issues; low confidence; low levels of skills; caring responsibilities; language skills and lack of work experience. People from such groups also face labour market barriers which include: Discrimination; adverse employer perceptions; lack of access to employment; recognition of prior achievement, costs of learning. The report concludes that although there are similarities in the barriers that people within different groups face, each individual will have specific support needs.
It is essential that all calls request detail of how the proposed project supports people with protected characteristics.
In developing the draft ESIF 2014-20, the NELEP and partners hosted a number of consultation workshops and a multi sector Social Inclusion Advisory Group was established. The Consultations are listed at Appendix 1. Key findings from those workshops will be referred to throughout this report.
European Social Fund - Operational Programme for England (OP) 2014-2020 (Draft)
The European Social Fund (ESF) Operational Programme for England is part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme for England in 2014-2020. It will deliver the Growth Programme’s priorities to increase labour market participation, promote social inclusion, and develop the skills of the potential and existing workforce. The programme will incorporate Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) money for areas with very high rates of youth unemployment.
The NELEP area has agreed that 20% of the notional ESF allocation to the area should be spent on Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction and that half of that allocation initially in the first three years of the programme should be co financed by Big Lottery Fund.
The OP states that the ambitions for what the ESF funding can achieve must be realistic. The funding must be concentrated on a number of issues which will enable it to tackle barriers and achieve real benefits for individuals, enterprises and local communities. The programme will contribute primarily to the inclusive growth dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy which covers the thematic objectives for employment, social inclusion and skills. The Europe 2020 objectives relevant to the ESF are:
· Employment: 75 percent of the population aged 20-64 should be in employment.
· Social Inclusion: 20 million less people across the EU should be at risk of poverty.
· Education: The share of early leavers from education and training should be under 10%; and at least 40% of 30-34 year-olds should complete third level education.
The Country Specific Recommendations relevant to the ESF are:
· Building on the Youth Contract, step up measures to address youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee. Increase the quality and duration of apprenticeships, simplify the system of qualifications and strengthen the engagement of employers, particularly in the provision of advanced and intermediate technical skills. Reduce the number of young people aged 18-24 who have very poor basic skills, including through effectively implementing the Traineeships programme.
· Enhance efforts to support low-income households and reduce child poverty by ensuring that the Universal Credit and other welfare reforms deliver a fair tax-benefit system with clearer work incentives and support services. Accelerate the implementation of planned measures to reduce the costs of childcare and improve its quality and availability.
As the recovery strengthens, it is likely that those already closest to the labour market will find it easier to find work, but there is a risk that the most disadvantaged will be left behind and find it increasingly difficult to compete effectively for work. ESF therefore needs to be used to ensure that these disadvantaged groups are provided with the right level of support, tailored to the needs of individuals and businesses in local labour markets.
Some groups are already well catered for through national programmes – e.g. all long-term (12 months plus) Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants are provided with help through the Work Programme. We will identify in more detail the groups for whom the Work Programme in the NELEP area is serving less well. Those with the most entrenched problems, even if they have access to these programmes, can find it difficult to get the most from them. For these people ESF will be used to provide additional support, which is aligned and builds on national programmes, so that they are better able to benefit. Activities to help the most disadvantaged groups who are a long distance from the labour market and have significant barriers to address will be supported through the active inclusion investment priority under thematic objective 9 (social inclusion).
The main activities will include:
· additional and innovative approaches to pre-employment training;
· additional support for long-term unemployed people, including those who have left the Work Programme, and including new approaches to work experience and training; improving the employability and transferable skills of unemployed, inactive and disadvantaged people;
· training workless people and those facing redundancy who need to upgrade their skills or learn new skills (including basic skills and English for speakers of other languages);
· responding flexibly to employer demand in local labour markets where LEPs and their partners identify specific needs;
· as part of wider packages of support, using self-employment as a route out of worklessness;
· support activities to encourage the unemployed to start and grow businesses (including social enterprises).
In 2012, 24.1% of the UK population were considered to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion according to the EU definition. The areas with the highest rates of poverty are in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East and West Midlands. Poverty, as measured by income relative to the national average, is often a symptom of deeper, more complex problems. Many of these problems are passed on from one generation to the next. The Government’s Social Justice Strategy[ii] sets out the scale of the challenge, looking at disadvantage in terms of: worklessness; family problems; low educational attainment; drug and alcohol dependency; debt and crime. These disadvantages often interact and all too often the most severely disadvantaged individuals lack the systematic, wrap-around support they need to overcome their problems in the long-term.
ESF will be able to tackle a range of issues including: caring responsibilities; debt; digital exclusion; drug and alcohol dependency; poor basic skills; as well as life skills; lack of motivation and confidence; family, parenting and relationship problems; health and well-being problems; homelessness; learning difficulties and disabilities; offending; and access to transport, and where needed support for childcare. All activity requires close coordination between local services and must align and enhance with other local provision and interventions.
Specific activities will include:
· tackling barriers faced by people in workless households and troubled families or with multiple disadvantages, so that they can move towards, enter and make progress at work;
· targeting inactive people who have the potential to enter the labour market but who may need considerable support to enter work;
· targeting people who face barriers such as homelessness, debt, drug or alcohol problems, and mental health issues;
· targeting disadvantaged communities and deprived areas in line with local needs;
· tackling discrimination and barriers faced by ethnic minorities and disabled people;
· integrating ex-offenders into the labour market;
· supporting the development and growth of social enterprises;
· tackling barriers faced by disadvantaged people in rural communities who lack access to services;
· supporting community-based action including Community Grants and community led local development.
The target groups who are at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion include:
· People in households where no one works
· Long term unemployed people
· Young people not in employment, education or training,
· Disabled people
· Certain ethnic minority groups – People of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin
· Offenders and ex offenders
· People aged over 50
· People with multiple disadvantage – (education, health, employment, social support, housing and local environment)
The North East LEP area’s approach to social inclusion and combating poverty and any discrimination (SI)
The North East LEP area plan to allocate £44.5m (20%) of ESF to SI. This will focus on 4 themes:
· Health Inequality
· Multiple barriers to employment
· Financial inclusion
· Digital Inclusion.
The North East LEP area will seek match funding from Big Lottery as a co financer in respect of half of the social inclusion allocation, initially for the first three years of the programme. The remaining half of the social inclusion allocation will operate through an open call and will support Community Led Local Development (CLLD).
Social Inclusion will also be a cross cutting theme throughout the ESIF. For example there is the potential that the Skills Funding Agency opt in would match fund ESF Community Grants. This has been a successful programme led by County Durham Community Foundation under the 2007-13 programme. See Appendix 3 for Evaluation – Executive Summary .
It is recommended that in order to have a real impact on poverty reduction, calls should contain a requirement that applicants:
· Identify how their proposals will combat poverty
· Commit to paying the living wage to all staff employed as part of the ESIF project.
Theme - Health Inequality
· ESIF investment over full programme £5.7m
· Big Allocation 30% proportion of spend
· Approximate total spend over full programme £11.1m
· Total approximate per annum on flat split £1.59m
· Outputs
BLF / ESF match outputs over lifetime of the programme / BLF / ESF Outputs in first 3 years1971 Participants of which:
· 539 unemployed
· 1399 inactive
· 44 employed
· 384 (aged 15-24) / 986 Participants of which:
· 270 unemployed
· 700 inactive
· 22 employed
· 192 aged 15-24
· Outcomes must include progression towards economic activity
Background information
Due North: The report of the Inquiry on Health Equity for the North – Inquiry Chair : Margaret Whitehead Published August 2014.
“Because of poorer health, many people in the North have shorter lifetimes and longer periods of ill-health than in other parts of the country”
“Disability and poor health are the primary reasons why people in the North are out of work”[iii]
Population Health and Healthcare Surveillance – Intelligence for the North East and Cumbria Academic Health Network produced by the North East Quality Observatory System published September 2014[iv]
The epidemiological evidence presented in this report, portrays health and healthcare in this region. It indicates that, on average and when compared to people living elsewhere in England, people in this region are:
· More likely to have a shorter lifespan
· More likely to die prematurely from preventable diseases and problems
· More likely to suffer a fall or hip fracture in older age
· More likely to be readmitted to hospital within a month of discharge
· Less likely to make healthy lifestyle choices eg smoking, alcohol, conception, diet, exercise, substance misuse, breastfeeding
· More likely to miss work due to sickness
· More likely to suffer fuel poverty
Addressing the challenges
Public health experts attribute much of the avoidable premature mortality in this region to risk factors within two categories. The first category comprises the wider determinants of health i.e. wealth, employment, education, housing. Recognising the relationship between health and wealth places is crucial and has a profound and enduring impact on the health of local people. The second category concerns health related behaviour s which increase the risks of suffering common 'killers' such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, COPD and asthma. Neither of these categories can be adequately addressed by health services alone.
The following provides data on the health inequality challenges identified in this report.
Life expectancy
The data show that average life expectancy for men in the North East in 2010-12 was the second lowest amongst the regions nationally, i.e. 77.8 years, compared to the national average of 79.2 years, a difference of 1.4 years.
The data show that average life expectancy for women in the North East in 2010-12 was the lowest amongst the Regions nationally, i.e. 81.6 years, compared to the national average of 83.0 years i.e. a difference of 1.4 years. Trend data show that female life expectancy is increasing both nationally and locally. In the first ten years of this century female life expectancy in the region was extended by 2.3 years. However differences in life expectancy for women in this region compared with the rest of England remain and these gaps in life expectancy between different populations lie at the heart of concerns around inequalities in health. The national and local variation in female life expectancy can largely be explained by differences in factors such as wealth, education, housing, employment and lifestyle rather than hospital care.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) – Mortality rate considered preventable in the under 75s
The trend data indicate how premature mortality from CVD has almost halved during the first decade of this century, a fall from 120 per 100,000 to 61.4 per 100,000 in this region. During the same period, the difference in premature CVD mortality in the North East region compared with that nationally narrowed from 21.4 per 100,000 to 7.9 per 100,000. However, in 2010-12, premature CVD mortality in the North East region was the second highest of all the English health regions and significantly higher than that suffered nationally.