Worklessness Delivery Plan, May 2009
CUMBRIA LOCAL AREA AGREEMENT 2008-2011 - DELIVERY AGREEMENT
This agreement summarises the activities and contributions that partners will make towards the delivery of the 2008-11 LAA and improvements against the relevant National Indicator Set measures.
It is intended that this Action Plan is a live document which is updated on a regular basis to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
If you have any questions, comments or wish to include anything within the Action Plan, please contact Corinne Watson, 01228 221053, .
Outcome: Reduce Worklessness
Indicators and Targets:
Indicator / Baseline / Target 08/09 / Target 09/10 / Target 10/11 / Lead Thematic Partnership / Lead partner org/officerLAA
NI 153 – Working age people claiming out of work benefits in the worst performing neighbourhoods. / 32.3% (May 2007) / 31.3% / 30.3% / 29.3% / Cumbria Vision / Jobcentre Plus –Susan Walmsley
Cumbria Vision – Gill Durie
Additional Indicators to be measured:
Barrow (WNF Recipient) / 32.3% / 31.2% / 30.2% / 29.2% / Cumbria Vision / Barrow LSP
Copeland (WNF Recepient) / 31% / 30% / 29% / 28% / Cumbria Vision / CopelandBC
Allerdale (non – WNF) / 31.1% / 30.1% / 29.1% / 28.1% / Cumbria Vision / TBC
Carlisle (non – WNF) / 29.7% / 28.7% / 27.7% / 26.7 / Cumbria Vision / Carlisle City Council
SI 1 – Number of people who have been claiming incapacity benefit for at least 6 months helped into sustained employment of at least 16 hours per week for 13 consecutive weeks or more as measured by local data / 0 (April 2007 – new target) / 200 / Cumbria Vision / Cumbria County Council
NI 151 – Overall employment rate / Cumbria Vision / Jobcentre Plus
NI 152 – Working age people on out of work benefits / Cumbria Vision / Jobcentre Plus
NI 173 – Flows on to incapacity benefits from employment / Cumbria Vision / TBC
Background– story behind the baselines and understanding the challenge
Being unemployed brings with it a whole host of challenges, some economic, some around health and others around quality of life and aspirations. It is accepted that areas demonstrating high levels of health inequalities are synonymous with those with large pockets of Worklessness. It is also more likely that children from such areas will under-perform at school and are less likely to enter higher education or training. Many neighbourhoods will see successive generations of families claiming some form of benefit support be it Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Lone Parent Support. Through including the Indicator NI 153 within our LAA, we are demonstrating that reducing Worklessness in these worst performing neighbourhood and increasing employment across Cumbria in generalare priorities for the County and in doing sowe hope to make a longer term positive impact on a number of associated health, education and other social indicators.
Within Cumbria, a great deal of time and resources has and continues to be spent trying to deal with Worklessness issues. Endemic Worklessness continues to be prevalent in the most deprived neighbourhoods in Cumbria, primarily located within Allerdale, Barrow, Carlisle and Copeland. The levels of Worklessness and deprivation in Barrow and Copeland have led to their receipt of Working Neighbourhoods Funding, and both Barrow and Allerdale were previous recipients of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding. As such it is natural that activities focussing on West Cumbria and Barrow will need to form a key part of this Action Plan.
In order to successfully achieve this target, work will need to be broader than that conducted underneath the Cumbria Vision Thematic Partnership, and will need to work in particular with the Children & Young Peoples Board as well as the Health & Well Being Board. Much of this working already exists through a multitude of mechanisms, however through implementing this Action Plan, we will seek to formalise some of that working to ensure enhanced outcomes.
There are currently around 42,000 people who are workless across Cumbria, however when focussing particularly on NI 153 within the LSOAs in question, we are looking to move around 800 people from the existing baseline into employment. This is not fixed – and could change depending on the fluctuations in performance over the 3 year period.
The target for NI 153, requires a1% year on year increase from the baseline between April 2008 and March 2011. Jobcentre Plus estimate that with their mainstream resources alone, they should be able to contribute 1% of the total increase required. This means that from additional, discretionary funds and activities, Cumbrian partners must commission activity to contribute a 2% increase.
The legacy ‘Stretch’ target – SI 1, supporting long term claimants of Incapacity Benefit into employment seeks within the LAA to support 200 people into sustained employment. However within the wider agreement with one of the main funding bodies – the North West Development Agency – it is forecasted that 270 people will be helped into employment, alongside a wide range of other supportive outputs such as undertaking vocational training.
With regards to the other non-LAA indicators, the LAA Performance Committee will continue to monitor recorded performance and if areas of under-performance are identified, the Committee will seek to review current activities aimed at increasing employment and where applicable, seek to identify activities that should improve performance. It is anticipated that the wider actions outlined at towards the end of this document will support the general outcome – Reduce Worklessness.
Current performance:
Recent analysis of data from 2006 - 2008 shows that there is an upward trend in performance, with fewer people claiming out of work benefits in the most deprived neighbourhoods. This trend is generally repeated when looking at the figures at a more localised level within District groupings. However we must consider the current economic climate. The UK along with other developed nations is in a recession with businesses facing rising costs from fuel, goods and services and the ongoing threat of redundancies. When work started on developing the LAA and later on developing this Action Plan, the main employment challenge facing Cumbria was helping disadvantaged groups find sustainable employment in the area. Now there is a likelihood that we may need to change our focus to find quick support for skilled people who are facing being made redundant as businesses may seek to reduce their workforce to make business savings. As we seek to make improvements against this outcome, we must bear these factors in mind and continuously review the suitability of the Action Plan.
Synergies with other targets:
Reducing Worklessness is completely interrelated with a wide range of other indicators, both in the LAA, within the wider National Indicator Set and is consistent with the aims and objectives within the Cumbria Economic Plan. Within the table below, we have attempted to highlight the main linkages and provide a brief explanation of the importance of the relationship.
Orange – denotes those indicators included in the LAA
Green – denotes those National Indicators not included in the LAA
Indicator / RationaleNI 30Re-offending rate of prolific and priority offenders / Many offenders have low skill levels and coupled with their history of offending, have lesser prospects of finding meaningful employment. Rehabilitation programmes need to centre around providing work ready skills and employment support packages.
NI 46 Young offenders engagement in suitable education, training or employment / Young offenders are usually disengaged from the education system at an early stage thus failing to gather basic skills required to support their ability to secure employment or further training.
NI 75 Achievement of 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE / School performance in some areas – most notably those with a difficult catchment area – will need to improve to increase the proportion of young people leaving school with a L2 qualification. This will increase their chances of either entering further training or employment.
NI 79 Achievement of a L2 qualification by age 19 / L2 is described as the basic ‘work ready’ skills level that is expected. This Action Plan will link directly to the one produced for NI 163 which seeks to increase this proportion.
NI 80 Achievement of a L3 qualification by age 19 / Increasing the skill levels of employed people will make them more likely to secure higher paid jobs, which will leave gaps at the bottom rungs of organisations which could be filled by those people being helped back into employment. Through reaching age 19 with a L3 qualification, this will increase the chances of undertaking further qualifications and up-skilling and thus career progressions.
NI 116 Proportion of children in poverty / Obvious correlation between parents who are out of work and those children who are living in poverty. Increasing the number of parents in work will directly affect the life chances of young people and
NI 117 16-18 years olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) / Reversing the aspirations of young people who are currently NEET is essential if they are to be prevented from entering longer term unemployment and to ensure that they undertake appropriate further skills development to make their employment prospects more attractive.
NI 119 Self reported measure of people’s overall health and wellbeing / There are clearly recognised links between employment and health. Increasing employment in the most deprived neighbourhoods should have a positive longer-term impact on the general health of the community.
NI 144 Offenders under probation supervision in employment at the end of their order or license / Many offenders have low skill levels and coupled with their history of offending, have lesser prospects of finding meaningful employment. Rehabilitation programmes need to centre around providing work ready skills and employment support packages.
NI 146 Adults with learning disabilities in employment / Learning difficulties can often be a significant barrier to being able to secure suitable employment. Through specialist advice and guidance and support from employers, measures can be put in place to enable people to find work.
NI 163 Working age population qualified to at least Level 2 or higher / L2 is described as the basic ‘work ready’ skills level that is expected. This Action Plan will link directly to the one produced for NI 163 which seeks to increase this proportion.
NI 164 Working age population qualified to at least Level 3 or higher / Increasing the skill levels of employed people will make them more likely to secure higher paid jobs, which will leave gaps at the bottom rungs of organisations which could be filled by those people being helped back into employment.
NI 166 Average earnings of people in the area / Greater numbers of people into work and having the opportunity to progress through their careers will increase the average earnings within Cumbria.
Working age people with access to employment by public transport (and other specified modes) / Providing adequate access to employment opportunities is a critical factor in enabling people to take up work.
Key uncertainties and variables:
- Job opportunities are only predicted for 12 months ahead – making it difficult to direct resources accurately.
- Analysis would indicate that in the next 12 months Cumbria is looking at a net loss of jobs.
- The UK (and indeed much of the world) is widely recognised as being in a recession which will undoubtedly impact negatively on Cumbrian businesses and the economy.
- Always a possibility of significant job losses in key industries i.e. following corporate restructuring, loss of major contracts, reliance on branch plants etc.
- Continuity of funding for employment support projects is often unclear, with both Regional Development Agency Budget reducing and European Structural Fund monies for the 2007-13 Programme cut by circa 50% from the previous programme.
Activities contributing towards current performance:
Jobcentre Plus Core Business:JC+ are an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Jobcentre Plus plays a major role in helping people to gain the support and skills they need to move them from benefits into work by providing our services based on individual customers’ needs to achieve the best outcome for them. JC+ key objectives include reducing child poverty, maximising employment opportunities, reducing those on out of work benefits, paying customers the right benefit at the right time, and providing an exemplar service to individuals and employers.
Return to Work Project: The Return to Work project is a Countywide initiative aiming to support long-term Incapacity Benefits to gain work-relevant skills and to ultimately support 250 people into employment. The project is funded with money from Cumbria County Council and the North West Regional Development Agency and is delivered through four delivery partners – Harvest Housing in West Cumbria, Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency in South and East Cumbria, Furness Enterprise in the Barrow area and Carlisle City Council in Carlisle. This projects forms the basis of the existing Local Area Agreement stretch target negotiated as part of Cumbria’s 2007-08 LAA.
Furness Enterprise – The Workshop:The aim of the Workshop is to improve the employability of non-working residents of disadvantaged wards and assist them towards training, employment or self-employment opportunities. The Workshop is funded by the North West Regional Development Agency through West Lakes Renaissance and Working Neighbourhood Funding to support non-working people who live in the Barrow Borough, paying particular attention to those in priority wards. Advisors meet with clients on a one-to-one basis to identify their employment goals, needs and actions required to achieve their goals. Support includes information, advice, guidance and access to IT facilities for compiling CVs or searching for vacancies on the Internet, a telephone/fax for job search purposes and newspapers. Customers are encouraged to develop skills relating to employment and job search through an innovative motivation and team building course. For those clients facing financial barriers to employment a discretionary support fund is available to assist with the costs such as childcare, training, interview clothes or other relevant costs.
Learning & Skills Council: Mainstream Further Education and work-based learning provision is available to learners in the worst performing wards of Cumbria and forms part of a relevant suite of programmes to support this indicator. In addition, qualifications and programmes of learning as part of the Foundation Learning Tier can support people to progress towards Level 2 ‘work ready’ skills qualifications. The Integrated Employment & Skills (IES) national initiative brings the LSC and JCP closer together in joint commissioning of programmes to support pre-employment programmes such as Skills for Jobs, Employment Support Programmes, targeted Skills for Life (literacy and numeracy) and support for Local Employment Partnerships where the employer is question requires bespoke pre-employment learning. The LSC aims to improve the individual’s chances of retaining employment by increasing pre-employment skills levels and progressing skills development whilst in employment through Train to Gain. This contributes to ‘sustainable’ employment and reduces the likelihood of a return to benefits.
Social Enterprise: Social Enterprise is a growing sector nationally and within Cumbria. The aim of a social enterprise is to take any profits that the organisation may make and re-invest it into the Community. Such enterprises can take a wide variety of forms and often provide employment opportunities for those who are disengaged from the labour market.
Routes to Work:Routes to Work is a people based Regeneration project which assists people living with multiple disaffection and disadvantage make the transition from unemployment into work. It offers bespoke packages of support linked into key Government priorities around reducing the number of people in receipt of benefits and linking employment opportunities to areas of known labour market growth. Since starting out in 2003 Routes to Work has assisted over 2000 people from across West Cumbria make this transition.
Condition Management Teams[c1]:
CarlisleCity Council: The Council is currently one of the delivery partners involved in the Return to Work projectthat aims to help residents in the Carlisle area claiming incapacity benefit return to the workplace. This is achieved by providing support and guidance along with confidence and motivation training, interview techniques, job application form guidance, CV building and letter writing. The project can also provide funding towards training and equipment and help to access employment opportunities.
Resources – Current:
Jobcentre Plus: The core budget for Cumbria is in the region of £8.9m per annum made up of: Staff costs £5.7m, Goods and Services £0.2m and a Programme budget (contracted provision for clients) of £3m.
Return to Work project: The project has £1.6m of funding jointly from the North West Development Agency and the County Council. This funding is in place until March 2010 when the project is scheduled to end. This means that resources run out before the end of the LAA 2008-11. A key action will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and to determine if further continuation funding should be sought.
Furness Enterprise: A total amount of £2,1m has been secured from the WNF to deliver programmes focused on Worklessness, enterprise and skills in the Borough. The package of support is being delivered over a three year period and commenced on the 1st April 2008. In addition the NWDA are providing a further £424,000 over the same period towards Worklessness in Barrow in Furness.