Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration

The report is an update on employment and skills data, issues and initiatives in Stockport. The report covers the current key data on Stockport’s labour market and benefit claimants, outlines local context and provides information on employment and skills initiatives in Stockport, including the Council’s new Inclusive Growth Strategy. Key issues covered are employment rates, worklessness and employabilty, particularly in priority neighbourhoods; skills gaps and the changes within wider skills. education and training provision.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to consider the data and issues in the report.

Officer Contact: Richard Mortimer on 0161 474 3864 or email: richard.mortimer@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on employment and skills data, issues and initiatives in Stockport. The report covered the current key data on Stockport’s labour market and benefit claimants, outlined local context and provided information on employment and skills initiatives in Stockport, including the Council’s new Inclusive Growth Strategy as outlined in paragraph 2 of the report. Key issues covered were employment rates, worklessness and employability, particularly in priority neighbourhoods, skills gaps and the changes within wider skills, education and training provision.

The Executive Councillor (Economy and Regeneration) (Councillor Kate Butler) attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The work of the City Regions Board in developing initiatives nationally was highlighted.

·         Stockport’s claimant rate for Job Seekers Allowances was the second lowest ot of the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester, at 0.9% compared to Trafford’s 0.8%.

·         Support was given to the Council’s Work Clubs in supporting people into employment.

·         With regard to the Local Employment and Skills Agreements – Construction in Appendix 11 of the report, it was noted that four of the local authority funded projects were coming to their end in early 2018 and attempts would be made to ensure there were local agreements for maintenance work as opposed to new construction work.

·         The Council’s ability to ‘drill down’ the data on priority areas was dependent on the information provide to it on the effect of Universal Credit on Job Seekers Allowances and who was claiming it.

·         There would always be a small number of school leavers who were unaccounted for and who it had not been be possible to track in the system.

·         The success of the Greater Manchester Working Well Programme was demonstrated in that it would eventually be superseded by the Greater Manchester Working Well Programme which was a Greater Manchester version of the national programme being commissioned by the Department fort Work and Pensions. Greater Manchester’s Working Well Programme had been the model used by the Department for Work and Pensions to design the Work and Health Programme.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted and the initiatives supported.

(2) That a report be submitted to a future meeting of the appropriate Scrutiny Committee on the Council’s new Inclusive Growth Strategy.