The Commission on the Future of Employment Support published an interim report today. In response, the Local Government Association has argued that we need a radical shift in the top-down, centralised approach used to match people with jobs. The LGA also regards the interim report’s findings are a positive first step towards achieving this.
The Commission on the Future of Employment Support
The Commission on the Future of Employment Support has been set up to develop evidence-led proposals for reform of our system of employment support and services, so that it can better meet the needs of individuals, employers and our economy.
The Commission is defining employment support as those public or publicly-funded services that:
- Help people who want to move into work, stay in work or progress in work to do so – regardless of what (if any) benefits they are on, and where and how those services are delivered; and
- Help employers to find, recruit and retain the right people for their jobs.
The Commission launched in November 2022 and will conclude in early 2024. It has now completed its main evidence gathering on the current system and the opportunities and challenges for the future. This comprised a major Call for Evidence that received around one hundred responses; twenty consultation events, workshops and focus groups; and an extensive review of the literature around ‘what works’ in employment support.
LGA response
Responding to the interim report by the Commission on the Future of Employment Support, Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said:
“We need a radical shift in the top-down, centralised approach we use to match people with jobs and this interim report’s findings are a positive first step towards achieving this.
“Councils and devolved authorities have the wide-ranging role, knowledge and expertise to help people into work. Our own analysis shows about £20 billion is spent by central government on at least 49 national employment and skills related schemes or services in England, managed by nine Whitehall departments and agencies, with no overall national strategy or accountability.
“The LGA wants to see a new local deal, which will help to build a brand new central-local partnership in which local government can work to its full potential for our people and create much needed opportunities in our communities.
“As this report states, things work best when there is local involvement in the design of support. Given the right powers and resources over employment and skills funding for every place, councils could build on their track record of helping to get people back into work – including those who are furthest from the jobs market – and plugging growing skills gaps.”
Final thought
The commission asserts that the next stage of work will focus on developing options for future reform. The commission wants these proposals to fully involve people who use employment services now or who would want to use them in a reformed system, those who deliver or commission them, and wider stakeholders. As far as possible, the commission aims to develop proposals that are co-designed, evidence-led and that can command broad support. The commission will do this through events, workshops and focus groups.