Get Britain Working
The Chancellor announced that, as part of the Get Britain Working White Paper, the government is investing £240 million to trial new ways of getting people back into work. The government plans to tackle the root causes of ill-health related inactivity, support young people who are ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET), and help people to develop their careers.
The LGA looks forward to engaging with the Get Britain Working White Paper which will build on the Back to Work Plan announcements and reforms made by the Department for Work and Pensions in July. These can be put to best effect through a place-based approach which we have set out through our most recent Work Local proposals. There are many similarities between the Government’s proposals and the LGA’s Work Local plan.
Skills England
The government has already established Skills England (in shadow form) whilst the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill passes through Parliament.
We believe that getting the skills offer right in places is critical to helping people enter and progress in work and ensuring employers in the public, private and charitable sectors have the workforce they need. Councils know what is needed to build skills pathways and are keen to see this knowledge feed into Skills England.
Apprenticeship Levy
The government announced steps to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy with an investment of £40 million, which will help to deliver 23 new foundation and shorter apprenticeships in key sectors. The reformed levy will be developed in partnership with employers, providers, and learners. Skills England will take the time to consult with a wide range of partners to ensure that levy-funded training meets the needs of employers, providers, and learners, and secures good value for money.
We need to see reforms which enable a place-based approach that maximises flexibility to pool funds locally to address supply / demand issues, target sectors, widen participation and for non-Levy funding, unspent Levy and traineeships to be commissioned locally. Alongside this, as one of the largest local employers in places, local government has significant workforce challenges and we need flexibility to use the Levy to meet these needs, including to ensure we have planners of the future. We look forward to being engaged by government on this.