Employment and Skills Committee - Thursday 13 July 2023, 2:00pm - West Yorkshire Combined Authority Webcasting

Employment and Skills Committee
Thursday, 13th July 2023 at 2:00pm

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Speaking:

Start of webcast

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Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Ben Kearns (Governance Services Officer)

2 Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

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Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

3 Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

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4 Minutes of the Meeting Held on 23 March 2023

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Item 4 - ESP Minutes - 23 March 2023

5 Chair's Update

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6 Governance Arrangements

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Michelle Hunter
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)

8 Devolved Adult Skills

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Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Michelle Hunter
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Michelle Hunter
Michelle Hunter

11 Skills support for employers

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Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Dr Peter O'Brien, Advisory Representative (Yorkshire Universities)
Jo Ledgard
Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP)
Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Craven Private Representative
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

6 Governance Arrangements

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Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phil Day, Advisory Representative (Trades Union Congress, Yorkshire & the Humber)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Graham Turner (Kirklees Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Phil Witcherley, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

7 Influencing the System

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Item 7 - Influencing the System

Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative)
Tim Thornton, Advisory Representative (West Yorkshire Skills Partnership)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Dr Peter O'Brien, Advisory Representative (Yorkshire Universities)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative)
Phil Lautman, Private Representative
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

8 Devolved Adult Skills

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Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phil Day, Advisory Representative (Trades Union Congress, Yorkshire & the Humber)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Thornton, Advisory Representative (West Yorkshire Skills Partnership)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Craven Private Representative
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Craven Private Representative
Cllr Graham Turner (Kirklees Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Phillipa Syers, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)

9 Current and Future Employment Support activity at the West Yorkshire level

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Item 9 - Employment Support CLEARED

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Sonya Midgley, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Sonya Midgley, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Sonya Midgley, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

10 Development and Delivery of Regionally Coordinated Careers Activity

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Item 10 - Careers

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Burton, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Burton, Officer (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Graham Turner (Kirklees Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Craven Private Representative
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Colin Booth, Advisory Representative (Further Education)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Graham Turner (Kirklees Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)

11 Skills support for employers

Share this agenda point

Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Tim Craven Private Representative
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Mr Martin Hathaway (Private Sector Representative)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Cllr Silvia Dacre
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Michelle Hunter
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP)
Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council)
Webcast Finished

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Disclaimer: This transcript was automatically generated, so it may contain errors. Please view the webcast to confirm whether the content is accurate.

1 Apologies for Absence

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:00:00

showing megastar every body and welcome to the July meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, employment and skills committee, I'll just welcome we've got two new

council representatives joining us today, Councillor Eleanor Thompson from Leeds City Council and Councillor Joe Hepworth from.

Wakefield council, and welcome to the employment and skills committee today does to remind people that this meeting is being filmed and broadcast.

for the

I'm sure the vast audience out there so.

please let us remind people to.

this remind people to use the microphones when you're speaking please, and we ask people to sit with their whether name cards are as well for the

for the broadcast

as well short of the spent hours in her remake of The Swan and before we started, so for the first

for the first item of the meeting, I'm going to go. 4 apologies for absence, in turn to Ben please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:01:06

I shall think we've had apologies from Councillor Khan Councillor Kilbane, Milton Brown, Holly Hunt, Claire Paxman, now Chohan and Alex Miles.

2 Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Mr Ben Kearns - 0:01:16

that's great, thank you, I'm gonna turn to Item 2, which is declaration, disclosable pecuniary interest please,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:01:23

and if anybody has

anything to declare at this point, please.

OK great, sometimes stuff crops up, so please feel free to

3 Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

please feel free to declare that when we get to that point in the meeting, thank you item 3 is exempt information, there's no exempt items of

4 Minutes of the Meeting Held on 23 March 2023

state meeting so all be held in public item 4 is minutes of the meeting held on 20 at 3rd or March this year so I'm to ask

committee confirm

that a true record of the meeting

and I can see.

5 Chair's Update

nobody is objecting to that, so we'll take it as a true record, so we move on to Item 5, which is the chairs update

couple of things on today's agenda, we have tried to move the paper so they are more.

thematic

and the focus around

focus around particular themes rather than working through an agenda of item, so that means that for this item,

all the discussion around the UK's shared prosperity fund and the pillar 3 people and skills that we lead on for the Combined Authority

is all in one place will be asked to approve and recommend this approach.

today, and in order to sort bring that discussion ad together, even though it's over a couple of items, I'm going to ask everybody if we can start at the meeting to discuss. that item, particularly the 40 million pounds of funding for people in skills there's been overseen by this committee, so these are the items, these are the proposals in item 8 adult skills and item 9 employments apart,

6 Governance Arrangements

and at this point I'd like Michelle Hunter please to introduce this item and start the discussion please.

thank you, Chair, and I do have some sides that Josh will share on screen.

thanks Dash, so just moving on to the next side

so Peel is very speaking skills, so just as by way of recap just. to note the alignment to the West Yorkshire investment strategy, so the aims of this pillar are to support those who are furthest away from employment and to create opportunities for individuals to move towards

Michelle Hunter - 0:04:06

work, so just aside just illustrates where that links to the to the West Yorkshire investment strategy

so just moving on please thrash

so just under on the existing allocations of pillar 3 so the multiply programme and hyperlocal projects have all come out of pillar 3 and

Phillipa Syers - 0:04:25

what's remaining from bat Hiller is 40 million revenue cut funding, which will go out to work, and Carl, the majority will go out to us and Carl

so then on the next slide, please.

so in terms of the proposed allocations at this site, just illustrates well how we've proposed that piglet back 40 m is divided,

8 Devolved Adult Skills

so just to reiterate that, although the timescales for this is extremely tight, we're really keen to to work with this committee and seek feedback and thoughts on these proposals.

the interventions on screen have been prioritised as part of the employment skills committee pipeline funding, which has been approved and discussed at this committee for the last of the last set of 12 to 18 months, and the proposals are based on the speed back,

so the objectives outlined in these interventions are about supporting communities that are most deprived in our region through the proposed,

interventions that are on the screen

important West Yorkshire was named as part of the

in the LIP for you ques b f, and then the remainder would go out to our ankles, so just moving on just to cherub, if detail on what that those calls look like so employment with Shropshire, committee members will be familiar with this programme, it's it's a tried and tested programme that's delivered through our local authorities, but it's been in place since 2019

m in year two of that delivery, so 24 to 25 were estimating that

Phillipa Syers - 0:06:05

around 5 million of the UK as BSF funding would be allocated alongside the covered gainshare funding that's currently funding the programme

so that's what we're proposing and we're working closely with local authorities. to share what that looks like in terms of delivery and the UK is b f outcomes and outcomes.

so just moving on to the next slide.

So the first proposal them for Ofcom call is a call around work and help. So this proposal is around creation of interventions that support entire households to address inequalities and remove barriers.

This really supports the kind of the 25% of inactive people in the region who are inactive due to long-term sickness and through our devolved funding. We already have a range of regional programmes that

Michelle Hunter - 0:06:53

support adults and is really a call to help simplify the offer and to

Phillipa Syers - 0:07:00

to enable people to understand that offer which may be sometimes confusing, and these particular individuals may find it difficult to access mainstream services. So this would be a call to support entire households who were facing health barriers to access good work, it's

Michelle Hunter - 0:07:16

based on our own on models of good practice that have been delivered in other MC areas and has been designed and proposed in consultation with local authorities and partners in the region,

and it really is about targeting individuals who are furthest away from employment.

who need to access good work and sustain that work,

it's really designed to earn them, enhance current delivery and develop new innovative approaches.

as if this is a budget for this intervention, with a proposed minimum bid side of size of 1 million, but that is a proposed indicative funding a moment and then moving on to the next proposal.

we were proposing something around community grants because this is being fed back to us and consistent with.

is that considered hardest to reach

across the region, we would be looking for a grants administrator, so a grant giver to to manage two proposals and to grant themes, one is around work and health, the other is about spotting those who are most disadvantaged in the labour market and the ambition is to have a regional community grants programme. that creates innovative programmes for the voluntary sector that targets people aged 16 plus, specifically looking over 50 days in particular mid willing who are facing specific health issues and those with disabilities and prison leavers, and this is something that we've discussed at this committee over the last 12 months.

Michelle Hunter - 0:09:05

labour market intelligence tells us that a quarter of people are out of work due to ill health, and we hope that this would surpass myth that some of that work. the grant should enhance existing activity in the region in Sopot individuals, further come barriers we put in there some proposals that have been discussed with partners around the development of toolkits and work placements bring fun to the for and targeted employment delivery.

it's obviously a lot of good practice, it's happened in a region through them, a few funding through European funding, and we thought that this would enable partners to build on that funding.

from a previous funding

so that the proposal, the call value for this, was 4 million, and we would expect our partners to to look at a minimum bid size of is I spot million now, but we would look at breaking that down into perhaps two themes so 2 million that grant giver to then decide what side's grants they want to give until foreign voluntary and community sector

then moving on to the next.

next side, so the the final car was around you and employment.

to to look at pilot activity, to develop an understanding of how existing youth employment offer can be enhanced in the region, addressing the high proportion of NEETs.

looking at the increasing numbers of young people who are unemployed, the call would be about bringing together partners to inform to potentially upon looking for regional youth employment offer, we've been working closely with a range of partners, local authorities, stakeholders, DDB you pay to look at what's currently happening within this offer moment

11 Skills support for employers

and the consensus is that there are gaps in the current youth offer and we

I think this is about an opportunity to test an accessible offer for young people who are inactive or claiming benefits,

so the proposal for this is an allocation of 2 million and we would expect to see.

minimum, we've we've proposed that we would expect a minimum bid size of 2 million for this for this programme, friends, just moving on to the next side, Josh

these are the design principles so.

really, this is about alignment to existing provision. the minimum bid size this is proposed, but we're really keen to get thoughts from this committee about what that should look like,

encouraging match from from bidders again what what should that look like

and you know looking at how deliverable this proposal is

and we've we've already had two sounding we've had sounding blue and the LPG group both of which had been quite keen on how we encourage that partnership and consortium approach that is going in the design principles.

so just moving on to the next slide, the timescales are, and you have this Andy group in June and between now and September, before the calls come out, we'd really like to do some further consultation with partners to ensure that these proposals are in our rights and that they are really looking at where the gaps are the deliverable in achievable and ambitious for our region

and by the end of September.

the calls will be alive with a state day of

April 1st, when 24

second, that was this, that was all I want you to say on this summary check you.

thank you Michelle.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:12:39

I would like to invite any questions or comments from the committee please.

Sylvia, please. and

thank you Chair, and

thank you for going through that so, and I noticed you said that obviously hasn't to duplicate, which I'm sure is the first thing that most of us think when we see it, it must not duplicate, but I can see

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:13:01

that that's easier to say than East to achieve.

and presumably so, are you saying that, do you actually have a clear idea already gone either, asking us for feedback now and the bid processes that started, do you feel you already have a clear idea of how to avoid that?

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:13:22

I think we've had several conversations with partners while we had lots of consultation and patterns through this committee, through our

Michelle Hunter - 0:13:28

local authorities, is nurses, intermediaries about avoiding that duplication really addressing these gaps. but I think that will be down to part of the the bidding process, and part of that that process of selecting aspires will be about ensuring that business about complimentary activity and making sure that we're addressing gaps, the future pipeline that we've brought to this committee, it's always been about looking at where we don't have funding for projects already and the proposals that we put forward are based on that that pipeline activity. so the idea of that is to complement the existing activity in the region, but that will be down to you know the scoring. if criteria was as well we put in place and how we work with partners between now and men.

yeah, of course, yet,

and so am.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:14:20

when you read it, it does look like this is going to be practical help

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:14:24

for individuals, and I think that's really welcome, but certainly some of the feedback I got

prior to my coming here today and based on the papers was that there was a concern, I think in the paper at number 10 was concerned that there was talk about inspiring people when it was felt that what was actually needed was breaking down the actual practical barriers that get in the way of people for this from the employment market. So it does. This does read as if it's going to be much more practical, much more tailored, and so I certainly welcome that,

and I suppose the only other comment I had was about the match funding and

I don't know how it works in in this particular field, but that just can't seem to be sometimes such a problem for what would otherwise be really good.

bidders,

so I assume again, you've given well, is the ref, have you got a view on that, you are asking for our view on it, but do you have a view on how practical and what, or whether that's a good idea in this particular context?

Michelle Hunter - 0:15:34

I think we we would usually ask for match funding, you know as part of the funding that we we offer

to demonstrate value for money and impact of that project, and this will be a factor in it has come through on the sandy group particularly in how we support the voluntary and community sector to be able to bid for this funding and not allow that match to be a barrier so we've definitely considered that and fed through to that the team are leading on the the process and how that match funding will work.

thank you, Martin, please,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:16:09

thank you so much funding. this is just a map from two years at a UK

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:16:14

SBE requirement, or is it a local requirement the week put on it?

Michelle Hunter - 0:16:25

correct me if I'm wrong, colleagues, but I think that was that is poor for I think that that's for

Martin, I think it's a requirement of the US, certainly from it.

certainly from a Combined Authority perspective, but I believe that

that is a UK SDF requirement.

thank you, Joe, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:16:48

so, and I think that.

Dr Peter O'Brien, Advisory Representative (Yorkshire Universities) - 0:16:54

this presents a real great opportunity to bring some

local expertise and skills, and the reputation and support that they give to some of the furthest communities away from sort of.

work, so my view is that this

these proposals

will really help, I think, drives some some.

people nearer to employments apart and the mainstream employments apart,

I think, in particular the youth

suggestion, I would say I've been part of that

party to sort of look at those proposals, but I think what we've got an opportunity to do here is,

in the context of a rising caseload.

of youth unemployment and it's one of the biggest in the country, we've got an opportunity to bring a think partners together

Jo Ledgard - 0:17:55

who bring their expertise and are working with with young people in in one physical space, and

we've been running youth hubs in DW p. for some time the evaluation that we've done with our participants is that they've really valued, having a space, that's been a different environment, a range of partners into Sopot

Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP) - 0:18:25

them, to address the barriers to work, so

I think addressing some of the other comments around.

practical support, I do see these proposals as really helping us to achieve that and I think, bringing together the key partners, perhaps

Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP) - 0:18:38

an opportunity to bring us together an alliance closer.

thank you go Temperley's.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:18:49

instead of just moving on them, building on what is possible as part

Tim Craven - 0:18:52

of a proposal closer.

to look at how we can encourage business to be talking to skills.

so actually it's nice, we're not getting to the point of increasing the Knicks as they leave what we're having those discussions early as though it had become needs in the first place, so the businesses sharing their knowledge about important workplace skills, looking at the opportunities, whether that's through

T levels, apprenticeships, all those or all those pathways and the challenge of seems to be getting businesses.

encouraged or motivated to do that because I believe that would make a.

the difference really help

those on the right pathway and not not adopted.

thank you Tim going back in his pipe Michelle.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:19:46

Michelle Hunter - 0:19:50

and she's gonna say to him that, yeah, absolutely I think that's one of the pathways we we need to consider, you know the pathways for individuals who have accessing the programmes in how they access the plethora of opportunities that are available, so and how we engage businesses within that is absolutely crucial.

Phil, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:20:10

and I just wanted to make it a bit of a point of clarification to Martin's earlier question

but met Michelle and answered around the match-funding requirement across UK CBF there are some things I think that require much funding but not everything, and I think we've decided

locally to apply kind of match funding requirements to everything, but if the committee felt there were some issues around that I think that's one thing we might want to minute, I know a couple of people have raised that.

thank you, Martin, please,

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:20:44

thanks for yeah, I think. when when we were looking at the Brexit. one of the promises was, we'd have more flexibility of what to do locally, and in the last round of ESF funding

back funding, with probably the biggest thing we had about, was causing problems with organisations looking to bid into it, and now we have far less money

and in particular the social enterprises that may be wanting to deliver on this. on this element of the UK sp F

my really struggle to find the match funding, so a more flexible approach, I think, would be very useful for me

thank you, Colin, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:21:22

Colin Booth - 0:21:25

yeah, I'm not clear where where where where is it envisaged that the match funding comes from and then what are the rules around it, because in previous rounds it was the rules around match funding that, because of the difficulty

and such as

where is envisaged, it will come from?

and calling Michelle please, I

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:21:49

think that's

those are definitely discussions, that we need to have with partners

Michelle Hunter - 0:21:54

about to make sure that

we're not putting that

barrier in place for partners to prevent the match funding, isn't preventing them from applying.

athlete going

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:22:11

yeah, so most of the other funding that most providers have have requirements against it, which means we can't use it as much funding, which just

so you get nowhere you just won't get a bid because we'll look at it and go

Colin Booth - 0:22:23

but we can't use any of our existing funding as much funding therefore we can't fit.

yeah,

Michelle Hunter - 0:22:33

I think we'd be happy to take that away and and discuss it with our colleagues who are leading on the the process for SDF funding and bringing response back to the committee so that that's OK.

thank you, thank you, Colin, Sylvia plea,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:22:47

and yes, thanks Chair.

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:22:52

and just noting the in their briefing note I got from one of my officer is, I think it says that

the recognition that allocating funds through the community grant system would enable key VCFS organisations across the region to access key funding through UK SBE f, so it sounds as if at some point in an officer discussion there's been some suggestion that that's one way for them to do what a community grant system means, but there has been some discussion about how that whatever it is might provide some assistance, but that's just the VCFS and that

might not necessarily cover social enterprise.

glad comeback, show please

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:23:36

yeah I think again we can take we can feed that in.

Michelle Hunter - 0:23:40

My understanding is it does, but we can we can feed that in interval trek.

and can we shelter somebody else?

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:23:52

won't come in on this item, please.

I don't see somebody else coming in, so in terms of our recommendations we've been given this a good going over and thank you everybody for your

comments on this, what we'll do is in terms of the

item that we're taking forward and make sure that the comments have been made of picked up in terms of the

including UK as p s.

provision in the issues around that funding are picked up and we're able to respond to those

later on, thank you, everybody for.

6 Governance Arrangements

your comments on that will come back to do so, I'm gonna go back to the Tony Abbott's agenda gonna move on to Item 6, which is governance arrangements and I'll pass over to fill please

thanks Chair so only a really quick item so this this is a an item that comes annually which confirms some of the things that happened in the annual Combined Authority meeting

last.

and is a paper that outlines the committee arrangements for the coming year, including membership including our core them, including the meeting dates, and also as it is a couple of annexes, one of which is the terms of reference, and one of which

includes the membership changes.

which

the Chair referred to, so welcome to the

two new elected members joining the committee,

so really it's an item for information,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:25:24

thank you. it is difficult to comment on this item.

Philby's

her future just on the advisory representatives table.

Phil Day - 0:25:37

those Bill Adams down there for the two you see and Bill retired in about three weeks' time, so I don't think he'll be attending future meetings, unfortunately,

so if, if it's possible for my name to be put down those an interim that is a replacement for Bill and will notify who that person will be like today,

absolutely will make those changes,

and I'll just looking at governance who have not getting a say, that's fine.

thankfully,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:26:08

we've noted that as renting else on this item grain, please

Cllr Graham Turner - 0:26:13

just one quick question, he's been suggested by our team that the chairs of the

local skills bulge in five of all areas and unworthy members of this committee.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:26:27

I will

say sorry that I propose bringing now right.

provide chair of the governing body to build what should with a distributor, but with non-working rights,

for please.

thank you for that point, we've actually had a number of authorities expressed something along those lines to us, I think it's something we, we need to pick up with the governance teams, it would be helpful if I was minuted.

because that will help Michelle and team have that conversation with governance and we will have to come back to that with a recommendation at the next meeting, I think, with things like this, as to go through various processes, but we hear we hear the view,

thank you, Sylvia, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:27:10

yes, thank you Chair just I have too much time on my hands and I was looking at terms of reference and noted it said that we are to liaise

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:27:21

with the business economy and innovation committee and I'm not sure I ever remember as actually ever doing that.

and I just wondered whether I've missed that or whether we can do something more about making sure we do, and also there's the second, what the next one, which is promoting, in collaboration with the other committees, all things

that lists.

but in particular, I would have thought we should be trying to liaise with the climate committee to make sure we're.

looking at green jobs holistically,

thank you very much. Thank you for your referrals and claim

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:27:49

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:27:53

that's an excellent point. I think there are some mechanisms for some committee members to do that for different groups, for example the LEP group, but not as a whole scale. So

this is my last

meeting as the lead director on this, but Felix will be joining us for the next meeting, and onwards was also the lead director for this committee, for the business committee and for the culture committee. So be very good at kind of helping to draw those links, but I think

Phil Witcherley, Director (West Yorkshire Combined Authority) - 0:28:17

for the skills and business one which I know about most, there is a lot of crossover on agendas

and I think when we we might need to think about how, formally and informally we bring some of those agendas together, particularly when we listen to the voice of the employer and skills provider and learner together to shape the economy of the future. Similarly,

then, the message is well heard on the place and environment agenda where, where skills is really really important to make sure a facilitator to make sure we achieve our ambitions in those areas. So I will. I will pick that up in the first instance with Felix and Liz Hunters, a lead director for that.

and I'm happy for it to be minuted.

thank you, somebody else want to comment on this item, please.

OK with the comments made.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:29:05

are we happy to offer recommendations, to note the report and clearly, as a couple of things, to pick up from noting the reports from Leeds happy with that

7 Influencing the System

we'll move on to item 7, please all our Martin, I think you prepared for this to come in and give us an an update on the progress of the local schools improvement pan, please,

yes, thank you, thank you very much.

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:29:32

There's a there's a paper which which Sonia in the Chamber prepared, which is a really good background, so hopefully people have read that into

where the local schools improvement plans have come from and how they got to this stage, so it's my intention just to give you an update today on where we've got to in this in this region so the research started and we started speaking to businesses and looking at all existing research and data that was available for skills in November.

the idea of these plans are not to become a strategy in their own right, but to be

a form of data and a tool that can be used by all those developing other strategies intruding, including this Committee,

to understand the views primarily of businesses and employers in that more generally the views of businesses and what their requirements are for the future and and perhaps some of the issues that that having and what their plans are and to incorporate that into a

into everything else that's going on in the area.

not least the work that's been done previously by the LEP here on the Combined Authority who, as I've said numerous times before. I really up to speed on unskilled or analysis as good as anywhere in the country where some places that perhaps are not quite so good.

we've spoken to

just under 900 businesses, on top of looking at all of the existing data in between.

the November and May which is sounds like a lot of is to speak to, but isn't really enough to develop a future skills strategy from which is why it's going to be taken for what it is, it's not, it is half a million pounds worth of work over three years, not not a million pound every six months to to come up with the data, so it's understanding and having a deep, deeper conversation with businesses about what what their future skills requirements are

we had to,

we had to compile all of this data and submit a an initial recommendation of what a good local school improvement plan should be to the time and for education by the 31st of May.

which was which was done, it was a maximum of 30 pages

and that plan unfortunately not able to circulate it as yet as whole because there's not agreed as a local schools improvement plan until it's actually been approved by the Department for Education, we just tried to seek some clarity on on how we could share that wider to get. to get some more opinions,

we've had lots of conversations with businesses so they were asked to either fill in a questionnaire which some did online, there was a short questionnaire a longer questionnaire, and then there were conversations with them, so more of a deeper dive where issues.

arisen, as you may have heard me, say before in this country when you ask visitors what IT skills needs of the future, often tell you what jobs it's got available now, and so it really is about how we how we try and tie those things together and take into account.

well how we try and help business articulate its own requirements for the future and is the real challenge over the next. The the next two years were these so the plans submitted on 31st off of may initial thin feedback was received a couple of weeks, her 16th of June,

and that was very general feedback which I understand has been the same to all locals, because improvement plan

deliverers

around the country and it's based mostly on almost points of order. It's it, it's on the detail, so it's I'm done criticised national funding policy

and things like that which?

is?

we've got no intention of doing this or criticising the policy, all existing delivery of how these things happen, it's supposed to assist us in my recommendations and we are now awaiting further feedback that is due by the 21st third of July before one, that's hopefully at that stage would be able to. to share at the local skills improvement plan and at this time we're in the process of developing a delivery plan, and that's not delivering of the outcomes that's not delivering of the training requirements, they'll come up as a delivery of the next stage of the plan which is further research and further looking

at all other data and further conversations with business to help

help create this picture of what skills.

the system needs to look like in the future, a skill system in the requirements that businesses will have in the future.

this there's a, and so that's you, by the two 23 of July, and then there's that'll be followed up by a route map, which is very much around what happens in the next two years. Sorry similar to a delivery plan, and again it's not to do with delivery, except of the local skills improvement plan itself, the an initial plans, we made some recommendations which are which are in the paper of some cross, cutting themes and some sectors that we should

do a

a further deep dive with and get some further conversations, we obviously need a lot more conversations and some in some different areas with different industries.

as well,

but it's highlighted a couple of interests, things is highlighted, businesses are saying a few things for us, and that's that.

they really value independent advice and guidance, and by that would think Michelle and I've just been at the meeting this morning and we were talking about that and we're trying to think of a better way to articulate it that independent in advising on isn't about what's available, it's about what's available, what we're all delivering it's around, what it is they could do so, it's a, it's that someone telling them right. This is the kind of thing you could do so, rather than tying it into say that courses available that week and that this will start, so it's it. That's what we mean by independent advice and guidance, and the other thing is that they like, like the idea of lots of shorter programme, so one to daikon programmes and being delivered to address the need

and although we don't necessarily want to hear this,

they qualifications are not important to to the employer and are important to the employee, but to the employer they're not as important either as a recruitment tool

or as a zeng mechanism showing this of a couple skills that are required, so it's a watch this space and wait for the 23 of July and with it being due a fee there's no chance of that deadline slipping beyond the 23 of July so,

I'm I'm happy to take any questions and I think some of you wanted to ask if there are any sort of comments on the way it's done

at the beginning of your paper.

thank you.

thank you, Martin, are there any

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:36:31

questions or comments, Shirley plea?

thank you, then, Martin, I was wondering, if the 900 businesses and

Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative) - 0:36:40

what proportion of that his share of the total number of business salary that we have an, and also what's, the breakdown with a largely SMEs or with a large few businesses.

that mostly estimates, a tiny proportion is restaged. Nowhere near enough to to have a serious study is just an indication that the real work starts in the next in the next two years. When we speak to many, many more, I would think that the college's every college will speak to more businesses than that almost on a monthly basis that we've got been asking different questions. We are not one of the different reasons, so

but it is what you do in the four month period, you know that's what you get for a very limited sum of money, so as a percentage it's not, they are mostly essays and there are, there was not one charity in that cohort, which of what I thought was interesting.

one or two social enterprises, but mostly SMEs, we've got Fulbright and we tried to find a way that we can share the data of this with the local authority level on the numbers and on the sectors there are available, which will we give directly to the officers at the other local authority.

some has more foreign players and big employers get to hear about the ulcer and in a way that might happen and how it evolves in the future, and I'd be thinking about it, I didn't know about and. so so one question must be at heart, how do you re reach out, but the other one is, I just get a bit nervous when you tell me what the 900 is, and then we might get a narrative which the SAS rather businesses in West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire don't value qualifications will actually you asked a different type of obsession like you can very much

dot but I very

but, this these are based on the rationale for lies has come from businesses, not business organisations, but businesses telling ministers over many, many years that what's at the moment. doesn't work and doesn't fit their needs and and any ease consistent around that the qualifications they've been, there has been a consistent view of that is also consistent around the country. Most of these are being delivered. This 38 around the country most are being delivered by chambers of commerce and the figure 3 the arm, and that is consistent around the country. So and where there will be a similar amount of responses, I think there are one lower from from each of those 38

Tim Thornton - 0:39:06

areas

section of business yeah, what do we do about that and any?

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:39:16

thank you, I can see Peter and Colin want to come in, so Peter plea.

thanks to you and that I think Shelley makes a valid point and it's

Dr Peter O'Brien, Advisory Representative (Yorkshire Universities) - 0:39:22

something Martin, nothing we discussed discussed on the West Yorkshire LC board. What is the weight being put vis-a-vis, the 900 who were surveyed or took part in the survey compared to all the in breath, in-depth analysis that we all have or all was compiled and put together? I think that was a question we were asking, so the FA got all this rigour analysis understanding and you speak to 900 businesses or as part of the survey as important as that is, but I think it was just understanding that wait and I think the LCR board and the chamber will try to make that case to government, and I think you know it's a difficult task, but I think yeah, that's an important point

thank you, I've been calling him please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:40:03

and yeah, I think this item is titled influencing the system and the system being post 16 education, so I've got some broad points about how this committee might seek to influence the system,

my first point is we've been talking about all CYPS and particularly in relation to 16 to 18 year olds,

there's only half of the system is required to pay any attention to them,

which is a fundamental flaw nationally in the system.

so, in answer to the question, how do we influence the system, we should be saying that to national government and the DFC that half of the system that's supposed to be influenced is not part of all six,

so what I'm talking about is the fact that half of a 16 to 18 year olds are in school, sixth, forms academies or 6 1 colleges that come under academy regulations who have no requirement to pay any attention to outsiders,

my second point is.

I'm I'm just going to read something out and I'm I'm fascinated as to what

the local authority representatives in the room really think about this, this is the 1996 Education Act, which very clearly says

the local authorities. have a legal requirement to secure sufficient suitable education and training for all young people in their area,

which includes to fulfil this, local authorities need to have a strategic overview of the provision available in their area and to identify and resolve gaps in provision now that legal requirement seems to fit perfectly with influencing the system, working with all CIPs all working together,

but the national system at the moment gives not only no power to local authorities but completely ignores local authorities even in the basic level of consultation, when investing in increased capacity in local areas, and I would highlight that by the most recent.

grants available nationally for post 16 growth to meet demographic growth. all of the decisions were made centrally

with not even a cursory

consultation with any local structures, either WYCA or local authorities, the results of which is that we have an expansion in capacity

for the only thing that we've got an excess in places for,

and insufficient further investment. in T levels, technical qualifications, provision for stew for young people who are likely to be NEET,

one provision that that creates a pathway into all of the areas that we're talking about, so

there's a fundamental flaw in the system nationally.

and this item is called influencing the system, so I suppose my question is, what will this committee do about trying to really influence the fundamental flaws in system?

thank you, Colin.

Colin Booth - 0:43:19

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:43:23

again, it's just a polite clarity the are around delivering and, I

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:43:28

think, going to touch on local schools, Improvement Fund as

well, but the

this is not about the learner, this is about the the need of the employer and the economy and the business, so it's deliberately not about the London, where we wouldn't be business representative organisation and not one to advise on on skills and on the right that you're on on on on the minutiae of that and how it's delivered, this is purely around the need of the the organisations that we're speaking to which may be

may make it a bit easier and on that the national policy side, as I said earlier on, we and we'd been told to keep out of it, but you know we accept that

it's it's the way we fund.

skills and education,

it is why he is delivered in the way it is, and so, unless we change that, it will carry on being delivered in the way is.

and so I agree it needs a much bigger conversation.

Shelley played my

father Leonard had the best experience and the best possible chance again writes Hardcash I experience because I tie with the line higher than their highest and they providers need to be able to collect that happened, so I think it is actually about the learner and the the busy and then policy.

because Shelley would then be able to that, Sylvia, please.

in terms of

what you just said, Colin about what local authorities think, well, I mean local authorities, know it's all ridiculous, and it's like that for nearly so many aspects of what we have to do where we are, we are expected to deliver but not given the resources or the power to do so so that's yes than the case police are casing just about everything so

everybody just sort of shrugged his shoulders and tries to work within what we've got only.

so I assume this law come back to us when we're allowed to see it.

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:45:30

when they say, let you let us see it because I think at the moment it's difficult because we're being asked to comment on something we can't say.

and

just the

she was one of the things that somebody said

was going to ask about.

it's OK, that's that's mostly the point we are going to see it again on the

I'm sure your Martin plea yeah.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:45:57

it will be circulated as soon as possible that, once it's already

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:46:01

received approval, just to be aware of that will have received approval from the DFC, and then you know that's the process that we're we're having to work with, so there's no

formal reason for it to come back to here as far as the FA are concerned, however it will come back to here.

in one way or another, at the appropriate time.

for discussion and then. that and looking at how we implement it and over the coming years, how we make the most of it, how we make it, a tool that is useful to this committee to do to use to act, all the other tools that you have

sorry remembered, what the

third place out of, yet

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:46:39

he said that the the SMEs, as they are primarily saying they're not interested in qualifications, but presumably they are interested in

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:46:45

the skills it's just they want,

they want them without the not how those skills are arrived at, they don't care, they just want the skill

yeah, they want they want the training.

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:46:58

for them to do

so.

it sounds slightly crass, but if if there's something free that comes with a qualification because it's funded, then then I'll do that, even though it may not be quite right for the business rather than paying paying for it themselves. that much, rather, if I'm honest, have the money themselves.

for free it's the pub public funding and West Coast, a slight anomaly in

in more businesses will spend their money on,

thank you, Martin, Shirley, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:47:32

it's just a point that you might hold personally talking to our

Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative) - 0:47:38

colleagues about about the answer seven years. in a sense, it's been developed, not many of us have seen it.

and I know that he can't call it a pop or pop, the plan is in the plan until is approved, but there's draft versions of it, and I can't believe actually that the Department of Education will say he can't share the drafts with stakeholders in the development of the plan that you are going to submit sounds bizarre, so I think people are a bit.

my thinking, really, is that really the case?

but they can't share drafts in him in the development of a

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:48:13

woman thing like him.

but the reclusive,

Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative) - 0:48:17

I'm afraid, is the case on on the private sale and dross but we engaged, so we'll go you, we have a member of every local authority at a senior level, on the ward we have the colleges who sit on the board, we've seen it available involved in the development of this the universities are on the board of those businesses.

Chair first drafts could be shared with this, Mr. Porter, sorry, somebody wanted to see the draft, they could see it in in-house to them if

through Tory or Labour, if they choose to give it to, but we we have to use we contracted by DFC to do what they tell us to do and that's don't circulate a plan to drop but also it's gone in the timescales of it of if you really think of the reality of trying to

deliver a plan from November to finish it by May and then jumping through yet.

that's why it's come to them.

Phil Lautman - 0:49:06

so I'll call him as a committee Martin Bill,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:49:11

could we bring the next stage of the the plan to this committee, please, I know you, you've said you worked until the Ddyfi.

you work until the day restriction timetables will

we all work with government departments? We appreciate what you're saying, but

I'm able to bring it as a future version to this committee plea,

Mr Martin Hathaway - 0:49:35

yes, but what do we, I'm happy to present the version of it yeah,

but

to give it a formal role in the development of the alongside p, then that's not within our power to do

that. That's a meeting details presented to thank Martin

comment.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:49:49

Colin Booth - 0:49:55

yeah long experience of working with employers, so which is great, but I'm just gonna say a word of warning about

employers who don't want qualifications and don't see part of the content of qualifications as relevant,

most employers want training that's specific to the people in their jobs, but public funding should be used to provide training for people who can move from that employer and get a job with another employer and over 40 years every year every time spoken to an employer, they're not interested in that, but it's public funding and as an economy and for those individuals we should be interested in that.

thank you for calling

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:50:44

you mentioned.

a little bit ago, Matt and about the local skills investment fund, as John say.

a little bit about that as well, please.

Colin played very briefly.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:51:00

Colin Booth - 0:51:04

so the West Yorkshire colleges consortium, which is a partnership of the seven FE colleges in West Yorkshire,

has received 100,000 pounds of mobilisation funding in order to bid for a pot of 7 million investment fund, which is the local skills investment fund,

all of the local colleges are involved in in doing that alongside some tribe training fighters and one or two providers from outside West Yorkshire who have West Yorkshire students.

which pretty much is what we're required to do to be honest,

so that's been put together, that's been submitted, we're waiting for what happens next.

thanks culling.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:51:47

are there any more questions or comments on this item, please?

I don't see any wanting to come in, I'm going to turn to the recommendation, which is that we note the contents of the report and I think we've given it a good noting

8 Devolved Adult Skills

this afternoon there's a couple of things look them in the minutes to come back to a future meeting, thank you a body will turn to Item 8 the adult skills at report and invite Piper to give us an update please.

thank you Chair.

Phillipa Syers - 0:52:19

I just want to give you a bit overview of multiply and laugh at yeah, so despite the challenges of delivery in such a short window of time, there's been actually huge successes, the team quickly mobilise creating a responsive partnership of all local authorities, the West Yorkshire FA colleges who delivered to just under 2000 West Yorkshire residents across various multiply interventions this resulted in 82% of the day a fee targets were achieved.

the FA boost the programmes were a real success, supporting those who are 19 plus on vocational programmes who may be slightly reluctant to engage normally in numeracy but gave them a real hand holding support to increase their maths skills and money management programmes supporting communities and individuals on budgeting with a real focus on the cost of living crisis with the most successful interventions

capacity building has been a huge lay, welcomed in particular from our FE colleges.

so what's next? So the DFC cannot confirm if growth will be available, although they've given us some flexibility to move money between interventions by around 35%. So year one has given us the opportunity to learn and understand the demands and challenges facing engagement and capacity building has been so successful without 406% against our D of E profile.

Also, further consultation has found that the cost of delivering capacity building will actually be lower than initially planned.

Therefore, the team are proposing to reduce been slightly for capacity building across two years in order to offer an increase to those FB boosters and the individual focus strands to reach more people who need support with their maths and numeracy skills.

Alex miles from will pass whether multiply the capacity building can include any training organisation who delivers numeracy

rather than just those who currently haven't new

multiply funding, so the initial guidance from the DFC did state that all individuals who receive a capacity building training must be delivery multiply. but the future strategy will be to widen out capacity building to all F E colleges and independent training providers and community organisations that are, in the first instance, delivering multiply, but we absolutely recognise the need to invest in the sector to create a legacy,

any comments.

thanks, Piper are there any comments on multiply please?

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:55:06

I don't see, I'll be, thank you.

so moving on to the community learning review, so in 2022 we commissioned an independent consultant to undertake a review of our a be funded community learning provision. The aims of this review to understand more fully the impact of the funding and the provision so we could champion its use and consider ways to improve the impact across the region.

The review found considerable good practice amongst West Yorkshire

Phillipa Syers - 0:55:40

providers, supported by skilled practitioners with expertise in learner, support engagement with the hardest to reach communities and empowerment. I was a strong foundation of quality of delivery upon which, to build, which we are currently working with providers, to remain focused on priorities and sharing best practice.

The review recommends more consistency in funding usage with more strategic direction from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority as how to use the funding, including geographical tag, saying there were two actions proposed as a result of the review. These actions aim to improve the impact of community learning investment by focusing funding on drug and Joseph is based on need and providing more local strategic direction informed by local authorities on how organisations use the funds

we are bringing this to the committee and it's an early stage so that committee members' views can shape our approach and would like them to consider moving to community learning allocations to a needs based methodology for reference UK SB F adopted a needs based methodology as detailed in the employment and skills paper and the DFC have discussed moving towards a nice needs based methodology for A B although currently there are no timescales communicated.

any questions.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:57:06

non-cricket, only questions on community learning review fill, please.

thanks to a small of a comment rail, we've been approached by your

Phil Day - 0:57:12

organisation culpable, yet and the two you see the Workers' educational Association. and they've raised issues with funding and their status in relation to the

adult community learning ACL review, especially around section 4.1 3 loving, too technical.

or believe he should not be looked at with within the Combined Authority. So I think the W I have reached out to is a correct account is wide to make sure that was the case.

Yes, we met with them this week and we are reviewing their status.

Thank you.

Thanks to your thanks, Phil template

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:57:49

thanks schedule

very briefly from an HD perspective to express very positive support

Tim Thornton - 0:57:55

for community learning. There is reference in the paper, I think, in the report to the

progression potential, but it's very specifically about adult skills provision

I think you could talk to HB providers and

very quickly identify excellent practice around progression ultimately into

higher education and indeed through to highly skilled employment and, for example, where in the recommendations at 18 there is points about celebrating great practice and points about progression pathways, I had encouraged that we make sure it isn't simply about access to adult skills important those though those are that it's also about access through to higher education and

and high-skilled employment.

thanks to him.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:58:50

it's got question about what what needs based methodology actually means.

Colin Booth - 0:58:54

people would like to come back on that question, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:59:01

Phillipa Syers - 0:59:09

really, what we're looking for is a needs based methodology, so currently, as I said, SB F is a nice both methodology.

I was just

go to a, it's a 2.2 9 in the paper about how that was calculated, so

it looks at proportion funding levels allocate 70% of funding based on population 30% of funding based on productivity, skills and employment rate, population density and household income. So that would be

a methodology to have a need,

thank you proper.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 0:59:46

Sylvia, please.

if I did say that I was going to complain a lot today,

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 0:59:54

unfortunately this is the item where I suppose Calderdale is probably most unhappy because obviously we're going to suffer a whopping loss.

if you change the methodology, and we note that

that you're saying that you will make that up to us, but I'm not, it wasn't clear how long you'd be making it up to us. and it's clearly hard

when we

persuaded our council to vote for devolution, you're trying to persuade you that people, it's going to mean more control over your money and possibly more money, and actually what's happening, we're getting less money, so it's quite hard for us to sail

so that was the first question really was.

how long do we get that

top up?

and I think we're all happy because we feel that there hasn't

this no indication that there's any recognition of whether actually we've been using our money wisely, and also, I think then this is a point I think Calderdale makes

in other committees that larger authorities have economies of scale that we don't have.

there's no consideration of that when you just use these blanket funding mechanisms like the the needs based one, so we are concerned with we accept that we're not going to lose out at the moment, but we want to know what what prospects, what what prospects also that you think there are

for any growth

in the future because obviously we're going to get more than it's easier to say to people actually yes, we

it's all right because we think we're going to get more, but I mean it will set the moment I can't see how it's going to happen.

Pippa please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:01:41

I mean I take on what you're saying and I think it's it's whether we

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:01:46

it was, whether it's it's

decided that a needs based methodology, which there will be some areas that that benefit, and some that don't, because it's based on a methodology of need whether that's something that we'd want to take forward by hear your comments.

at some.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:02:07

transitional arrangements, how long?

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:02:11

Phillipa Syers - 1:02:15

so there's a few options, if a nice base methodology was something that what we wanted to explore further, then we would look at

whether we maintained

long term your allocation for Calderdale or those allocation stayed, as it is that's one of the options in the paper.

but I think it's

and also what we're really looking at is a or improved measure of impact, and that's clear, something we want to the social and the the things that you just mentioned that you don't feel like, are highlighted strongly about the success and how well the the funding spent we're looking at a

regional way of measuring social impact as well of our community learning so we can shout louder and really demonstrate the the benefits of community learning.

folks, prepare.

coming play.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:03:13

yeah, so I'm not clear where the

Colin Booth - 1:03:19

geographical needs base means shifting money to providers based in those areas or ensuring that there's a set of rules that mean that the money is used for full students from those postcodes, in the latter case, any methodology around that tends to increase bureaucracy

and

it's quite difficult to manage.

either way,

it would probably shift money from one proud provided to another, so you then got the problem of there will be redundancies in some providers and expansion in others.

and as far as I'm aware, the adult education budget.

didn't have waiting lists in most places, so if you moving money away from places that have waiting lists for adults to go on courses, those waiting lists would increase.

one can move into another area, but if the demand isn't there, we'll just end up with an underspend budget, there are huge risks in this I'm just pointing out.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:04:34

so this is just about community learning, and actually our providers

Phillipa Syers - 1:04:38

are currently the data shows that they only deliver in their localities where, because it's so hyperlocal, it's delivered right in the communities right, so it's so different to maybe a B which definitely that out of that would happen.

yeah so.

I am happy to hear it's just community life,

Colin Booth - 1:05:01

thank you, Colin, I've got Shirley, then Timperley shortly

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:05:05

yeah, is it's really just to come and I can understand what Sylvia's

Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative) - 1:05:10

saying, but there's there's a a pipe really about being trying to be very deliberate, where you want to make impact and in being deliberate you've really got to think about where the the need is and I guess it comes down to the the definition of need, and then the habit, the ability to demonstrate that that need has been met through whatever mechanism, so I'm supportive of a needs-based assessment because it's deliberate and designed to encourage inclusive growth, but you gotta get the mechanisms right in terms of measures,

thank you Kim, please,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:05:44

thank you.

Tim Craven - 1:05:47

Glasgow. In terms of this methodology,

has it been used in other combined authorities is, is there evidence that there's actually that this works and or are we trailblazing air or of others already dropping this path

in terms of needs base methodology for community learning, it hasn't been used in other NCAs although obviously it's being currently is being used for SB F on a hyperlocal model and for multiply that's how that it was regionally distributed on a local authority level.

thanks Graham, please.

thanks.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:06:30

Tim Craven - 1:06:34

hearing curriculums were quite happy because report, mostly uplifting, there, which which is fine because we think we've been historically

Cllr Graham Turner - 1:06:38

underfunded anyway we added spotting, however, that Calderdale has taken a, we don't think others should necessarily suffer for it, so we need to make sure that other local authorities are protected with that submarine abroad. We are in favour of a D and we welcome the uplift but not at the expense of our colleagues in Calderdale.

thank you does anybody else

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:06:58

want to come in on this item, please?

Sylvia Plath, yes, I'm

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:07:07

sorry, could I just ask for clarification and so when you obviously are saying you now want to move to this model, where you're able to assess the effectiveness, and how soon do you think you're going to be able to see that after this would start,

in terms of the effectiveness of a nice base methodology.

Phillipa Syers - 1:07:27

I think we would be located within the next

six to eight months of

working with our providers, who we have three providers who aren't geographically bound, whereas about their community learning, and we can work with them to work with the local authorities to do to ensure to support them to deliver in those areas maybe slightly underrepresented and then within the first six to eight months we'll be able to assess how that's working for them to to move towards that within this next 12 months,

thank you, and I

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:08:06

think it is, I don't see anybody else wanting to come in on this.

on on on this item, the recommendations we asked to agree a to comment on things really important, to

comment on and recommend, I think it's really important that this is, as this review is, comes Committee and at an early stage, and there's quite a lot of

quite a lot of issues are being raised here.

rate here to.

offering one more thing I dot skill, thank you,

9 Current and Future Employment Support activity at the West Yorkshire level

thank you, and I wanted to bring to your attention that that guided

Phillipa Syers - 1:08:45

learning hours so as part of the 10% rate increase at the Combined Authority.

Best cost-cutting tactics employed by some providers ensure that the rates increase is aligned to improve the impact for learners that we've held round table with providers to understand the reasons why sometimes they there is a delivery under the guided learning hours and where there are valid reasons we needed to.

as you have already made changes to their roles, to learn the impacts of the changes they've made and lessons learned. so from this we'd like your thoughts on the following proposals, so this item was to ensure that plan guided learning hours are entered on,

US cutting tactics.

when we've consulted with providers, currently 8, I already entering planned guided learning hours, it's just we don't

gather that data, so this would be more about making it mandatory to include that information.

group allows 70% of the guided learning hours and reduction of any funding if planned hours are below 50% of the guided learning hours.

we what we're looking at, introducing a specific sector-based work academy approved codes programme which have gone, have set funding values for 23 24, and we're working with.

this pilot.

and indeed the removal of pure distance learning to be considered for introduction for 24 25 following evaluation of the changes implemented and the impact on the range of provision and Alex miles from Will asked for her comments to be recorded on this, so she agreed with all points in relation to guided learning hours recommendation and for funding to support only those who are priority. However, the phase out a fully online remote learning needs further consideration as although teaching hours may not be involved, there is a pedagogical development and the because I agree this should be limited but not phased out completely

any comments.

thank you, Piper,

any comments on the guided learning hours please,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:11:25

Colin, please

very brief, all seems very sensible.

Colin Booth - 1:11:31

thank you.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:11:35

any more comments or questions no, I don't say, so I'll definitely turn to the recommendations now.

the we take for a see, everybody is appy with those, and I'll move on to

item 9 employment support item about supporting our residents, our son, you to introduce this paper, please.

Sonya Midgley - 1:12:00

thank you Chair. Do you have any perhaps quite a comprehensive paper, starting with a labour market analysis and as you'll see that the labour market in West Yorkshire remain strong, with growing employment and job vacancies? However, in economic inactivity rents, hiring West Yorkshire than it does nationally at 3.00 points above the national level and in particular those disadvantaged in the labour market, have lower employment rates and higher levels of inactivity and West Yorkshire performs 0 lower than the national average across all protected characteristics.

Whilst the unemployment claimant count is on a downward trend, it still remains 25%, higher than pre pandemic levels and higher than the national average.

The number of people in work claiming benefits also remains high,

and sadly, for the second year across West Yorkshire NEET figures continued to rise, with some local variances, including Wakefield, was actually

on a damaged texture and Copley's which remains more-or-less, stable.

what this does is paint a picture, there's a greater demand and need for employment support services.

some of the things that we are we are already doing to address this in West Yorkshire include working really closely with our DW, PI colleagues, so he will know that we have a joint action plan with digital you pay. That looks to align so of our work, where we have

apparatus in common. More recently, combined authority officers from police and crime teams, violence, reduction units, employment and skills with local authority and Job Centre Plus officers have come together with existing providers to consider how we might innovate, a youth hope offer.

This is at very early stages, but we feel that this is something that needs tackling in a partnership approach the

examples of great practice happening already, and we want to learn from those and develop a blueprint which would love to bring back to this committee as that model emerges. the second key area is the flagship M employments, part programme, employment hubs, employment, West Yorkshire, which, as you will know, is regionally co-ordinated and delivered by local authority partners that programme has supported over 12,000 people over the past few years and will continue to support 7,000 people

towards and into work by March 2025 so going forward and to help on a really strong track record in this field we're proposing to develop a piece of partnership work. and creates a blueprint for employment support that will consider the current context and challenges of the existing system and how we can affect system change and achieve better outcomes for our residents

in ensure what a devolved system might look like this work would build on the weapon. This committee is already overseeing through the future ready skills, commission and the employment skills framework and help establish an agreed policy policy position in West Yorkshire as part. The works was the next stage of deeply dpd valuations where things were seen recently in trailblazer deals, so if agreed the scope set out in detail in this paper for employments, partly payment will be taken forward for wider consultation and engagement with stakeholders from a business or the wider sector and individuals, including service users from across the region including members of this committee and young networks.

facts on the

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:15:32

it's in we've got any questions or comments on this item, please.

figure please.

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:15:44

yes, so the officers who have been involved in it have said that they really welcome the opportunity to input to the work that's gone so far and look forward to report that they are just expressing slight concerns that it's the usual thing, it's also complicated and is the going to be overlapping, we just want to guard against that and they're just.

they want to keep a focus on devolution.

to the local authorities and not concentrating it at the West Yorkshire level so that the authorities don't end up feeling the officers in the authorities, don't end up feeling sidelined, so that was just the the concern, whilst the understand the need to do it and they want to do it, that's just the concern they have thanks.

thank you Sunday please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:16:29

thank you that started and we have an internal project group which

Sonya Midgley - 1:16:33

includes local authority officers and part of the scope of the work that we'll do will very much look at

the roles and responsibilities.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:16:44

Q Is there anybody else on this item, please,

Colin, please,

I'm just looking at the the meets figures in the middle of the paper.

Colin Booth - 1:16:52

which

are

an interesting reversal on the density of jokes,

so the highest needs figures in Leeds and Leeds has the highest density of jokes with which seems counterintuitive.

any explanation.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:17:16

lots of people work in Leeds who don't live yet and it's only also give a more detailed

do something wants to give a another explanation, but yeah,

there's a great number of people at work in Leeds, don't live here.

Sonya Midgley - 1:17:33

that's correct and if the aim is an excellent question, I don't think I have anything to add.

thank you sorry

for filling planes.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:17:41

in which case we need to be ensuring that those young people who live

Colin Booth - 1:17:45

in Leeds can get those jobs.

I agree.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:17:49

thank you, are there any more questions shall we?

tentative recommendations and check everybody's happy

with those recommendations.

that's great, thank you, if we could move on to

Item 10, please Michelle.

10 Development and Delivery of Regionally Coordinated Careers Activity

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:18:12

thank you very much, so we've included seven rationale in there in the paper about why careers,

education, information and guidance is so important at different ages and stages, say, right from primary, where people, young people,

Michelle Burton - 1:18:27

unconsciously start rolling options out really really really really early,

particularly long dandelions but also cultural,

do the economic background so can the area they live in and the sort of sort of people they see around them so you can see that really early on and through, of course,

once educational life and through to working life as well and those those times where people are looking to retrain and upscale and and access new careers, so we've included some information about the kind of proven economic impact and economic importance of that advice and as well as, of course, the social and and societal.

it is important to note that and the vast majority of of of support are on on the careers agenda is nationally commissioned and including, of course, for the National careers Service

and and then

in terms of work, cannot helping schools to. connect with employers through the the careers and Enterprise company say, mayoral combined authorities and LEPs have a delivery role and of course, is a lot of local match funding that goes into that. It's very much a national model and that we have had to have a contract and to deliver against. So in the in the paper here I want to draw your attention, in particular to to the performance of of what we're doing at a regional level and so have a really long track record in the Combined Authority of working with our

180 plus and schools and colleges to improve and the performance towards the the Gatsby and benchmarks of good careers guidance and that work continues and in line with the Catalan national model that has

that we now have a regional careers hub through which support peer learning for teachers. We've had some fantastic events recently where teachers have gone out into industry and it's very much actually the kind of things that Tim was talking about earlier about supporting that interface between and business and education.

We have a regional the All Age careers platform called future goals, which we continue to to make improvements to.

we did want to draw your attention in particular to a propose a and offer, really that we've received recently from the careers and Enterprise company who are who have been set up by government and to work with with antihistamines and laughs to to support schools to improve Icarus performance as part of that that contract for the first time they're being asked to work with primaries which is which is great actually proving previously work has been excluded exclusively with secondaries and of then nearly 3 million pound contracts they've offered West Yorkshire and 32,000 pounds and with requirement for match funding with which to engage 120 primary schools in Leeds Wakefield, Bradford and Kirklees.

there are some quite specific requirements about that.

now we have we have consulted with our local authority officers because obviously careers are such an important agenda across

across the region and at a local level, but and there is support there is that there is a strong case for a focus on careers education at primary level, as I've already said, but there is a concern about deliverability really of what we're being asked today and we would be really keen to get the the Committee's views on that, so I think I'll pause at that point before I go into their this strategic work and the blueprint.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:22:25

the biggest prize the first called the deal is not thrilled yeah especially as at the moment we've got really high rates of NEETs and exclusions in our schools arising, I think at the fastest rate so

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:22:36

again it's hard to explain to people in Calderdale why we should be excluded from it,

so that's

that I don't know how much influence you had over that. Obviously I understand that these funding streams are a nightmare.

so I think that was the one, the comment we had, I suppose from C and K careers was also just the one, the amount of money was so pitiful as to be

an insult, really any even divided, amongst fewer authorities.

but that they were just concerned that he all needed

it needed to work in conjunction with everything else that's going on work as usual so that it fits in with the careers throughout school and doesn't work as a sort of one-off isn't linked into everything else

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:23:23

Councillor Dyke, I should have explained why that was the case, so is so some areas have been designated nationally by the Department for Education as education, investment areas which, for local authority areas have been

Michelle Burton - 1:23:35

so that is absolutely a national decision that's the limit of my knowledge on that.

surely please.

just just two extra minutes, what can you do with that amount of

Shirley Congdon (Private Sector Representative) - 1:23:48

funding and what you gonna be held account accountable to deliver against a

and if the other thing is, if you don't take it, what would happen,

but what can you do?

mecom

so we should push on,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:24:04

thank you Graeme, please.

our view is exactly the same thing 32,000 pounds, it's just derisory,

Cllr Graham Turner - 1:24:10

so actually it's an insult and are insulted by that, that's what can you do with 2000 pounds in this day and age, I got to know people that would spend more on a weekend.

thank you Tim, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:24:23

Tim Craven - 1:24:28

just as a general point, in terms of the updates and stakeholders that we're engaging with

doesn't mention parents

anywhere in the air and parents can have such a positive and negative yeah.

impact on those career choices, so it was really just a plea to make sure that yeah, but sometimes they need educating as well in in terms of having rapid lead, roles and skills are changing for the year for businesses.

thank you.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:25:03

Michelle played.

although please,

thank you, it was just a point of clarity, it's I say 2000 pounds with match funding, West match funding coming from.

has not been identified.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:25:20

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:25:27

although no questions or comments, well, I'll ask Michelle to press on with the report, please.

thanks very much. so from from delivery and when it wanted to focus on and some of the strategic work, so so in terms of setting the context for this, I made clear that

the the the path, the extent to which there is local control over the careers system is is extremely limited, and yet it is an area that you as a committee are tremendously interested in as are and as our employers as we've had for either the outset research about loud and clearly and of course all the educational institutions around the table, you know that the quality and inclusivity of SF can the information that people have access to has or has a direct impact on on your on what you deliver, so one of the things that

that's that we're keen to look at is what?

what's the regional role should be in the CRAE system

and and how and how that interacts with local delivery, so in local authorities that there is a there is a lot of work, a lot of ambition

to increase, to increase ambition and destinations in our and connect the young NEET, the NEET young people that we were just talking about with employment, local employment opportunities

but the kind of very national system doesn't necessarily allow us to do to do those things at the moment so building on

a lot of a lot of expertise in in local authorities, our own future already skills Commission which published a couple of years ago and when the early stages of developing an All Age careers blueprint for West Yorkshire, which would be intended not only to drive and influence delivery and continuous improvement but also to influence government in terms of future future planning particularly with, precedents in in devolution and trailblazer deals elsewhere in the country,

so so we have included in the paper a summary of the can occur, the career related asks from both Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined authorities.

trailblazers, which then page 89 and 90 of the report. So in the process, at the moment of commissioning commissioning an expert organisation to work with the combined authority and local authority partners and to develop that that's blueprint,

including really extensive stakeholder consultation, including as a top priority this this committee and so what we're asking for here

it's for is firstly for you, please to to to to to engage, to engage with that when that, when that organisation is secured, we'd be really were. It's really important that this committee feeds in and of course it, and we're also seeking your endorsement really for this for this piece of work and and future involvement

thank you.

are there any questions and comments on item?

Peter please.

just a comment, and it's probably more broader than the All Age careers blueprint which we'd be happy to talk to sail. We view our conversation with you've a shower, and one is in relationship to devolution and the trailblazer deals and a few of us were at Sheffield Hallam University recently,

where Andy Burnham again pushed his own back and I'm quite interested that David Blunkett was speaking after an call called the evening, he said you could call it whatever you want any by gum back for York to resume in line are, but but I think what was quite interesting was Gillian Keegan's response, which is very robustly against any sense of devolution. Going that far from Andy Burnham, and I also thought that what was being proposed in greater Manchester was different in terms of the context of somewhere like West Yorkshire or wider Yorkshire particularly our university set-up

compared to greater Manchester is is more diverse

and is the got more applied universities and that's good, so I think just something for us to bear in mind what's happening elsewhere with the trailblazer, the devolution deals and DFS's response, particularly the secretaries of state with secretary of state which was very robustly against any sense of Manchester getting further powers. when it came to vocational education, choices, for

you know, kids aged 14 so dissimilar to no chair and forwards.

thank you.

as people are aware, we are entering negotiations into trailblazer

devolution.

I think we've been negotiating devolution for about 15 years now, so

we're keeping somebody in a job somewhere, Colin, please.

yeah, you probably unsurprised to hear that the as far as the

Colin Booth - 1:30:21

college's concerns and there's been some progress but limited and slow in terms of

the consistency from schools in in

providing a range of careers advice, particularly those with sixth forms. This is not a new story

and I'm just interested in how the

the legislation as it now stands we will actually have any influence or how we can ensure that it does have an influence and there is more consistency on careers advice in

secondary phase education

being a problem for a long time now.

and anything that's something that their bat

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:31:06

that will be seeking to include in this in this piece of work, but you're right that these are entrenched and long-standing issue was,

but we

we, we need to be ambitious as a region in articulating our vision and I think that's the starting point isn't it to setting out what we, what we want and what we're asking for and how we would do it differently.

to be clear, some schools do it fantastically, well, so we know it's possible yes.

thank you, Colin, Eleanor, please.

thank you, Chair yeah, just

I mean if we have a local vision for skills and employment, but we don't have the authority to work with schools, how on earth are we supposed to achieve that is apparent ever at just post GCSE child who we talked about green skills and employment

never came up on the list of options in schools so she wouldn't even consider it.

it's just impossible, thank you,

thank you.

but then it feels like the ground, please.

it does care about you mentioned

about the

Cllr Graham Turner - 1:32:10

regional level, with the latter right per week, we we quickly doubling us right starting point, nothing that the variations across the region are too great, we think actually should be more local, delivered, that's just to feed into the moral comment really this time that local level, I think is the right way to deliver a little with his model persona.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:32:36

thank you Graeme, does anybody else want to come in at?

this point,

OK, we've got.

we've got some common sense to take forward, I'm gonna turn to recommendations and see if everybody's happy with those

take everybody is going to move on to.

item 11 and Michelle and to please.

11 Skills support for employers

thank you, Chair, and to the end of this paper was to provide you with

Michelle Hunter - 1:33:02

an outline of the current economic context in relation to a skills pot for business offer across the region, and also our future deal deliver an accurate delivery. for the purposes outlined in the current economic context, a West Yorkshire. and future skills interventions that support employers. Just to highlight a few points of interest on the economic context, the data and tells us that the number of employers investing in training is limited. We know from the latest skills survey that less than two thirds of employers are providing training 20 out to staff of any kind.

We know that are key to this is around training behavior in the context of business needs and although we know businesses support training, there are significant barriers for businesses to enable them to do that, such as investment of time influence and the ability to organise that training.

despite this lack of of investment, we know that employers in our region are still facing labour shortages and

they expect that their staff will receive are again some kind of new skills and knowledge in the year ahead,

the main drivers of this if they say expectations around new technology equipment and legislative inquiry requirements. you'll see from the report that access to training also differs, and there are a number of factors involved in this.

in terms of equivalent Beacon White's delivery, we know that West Yorkshire, through our West Yorkshire regional business facing programmes.

this highlights and demonstrates the need for that support to continue to businesses. and you'll see from the figures in the paper that our current skills for growth offer has exceeded targets and supported 6,000 businesses to engage with education and throughout levy programme

businesses of pitch 7.5 million pounds worth of levy, funding and enterprise or shop share has seen 184 sign-ups in the last quarter

so then moving on to future delivery

outlined in the paper with support of this committee or our climate committee, the green jobs task force, local authorities and multiple and stakeholders across the region, complementary skills packages being developed use, utilising the remaining gainshare funding for investment priority 2 which is employment and skills and the committed employment and skills budget.

in June, the Combined Authority approved funding of 7.5 million pounds to develop complementary skills packages to get address methods to develop future skills programmes

through the delivery of compliment complementary skills packages that will be delivered between September 23 March 26

the skills packages being proposed in the Piper out are built in successive previous programmes and support employers to address market failure where there is currently no provision or provisions is coming to an end.

the programmes seek to add value and allowing to a regional activity in address gaps where future funding cannot address

the skills programmes being proposed, are interdependent and interlinking, and have been through

extensive consultation

to get to this point and have been thoughtfully designed to ensure that they help simplify that complex landscape for employers.

and to to to along to all those cross cutting themes such, as you know, the ambitions that we have around glean skills and climate.

so the skills package that is outlined in this paper relates to our support for businesses, so that's workforce, development and growth this currently includes two projects within that offer one is around the continuation development of an impartial offer to support employers including specialist support for digitisation and green skills offers. This will include support with job creation aligned to the Merrow pledged to create 1,000 green jobs as well as skills funding to enable businesses to digitise or reduce carbon. also within that programme there is a Merrill Esmée graduate pilot, this will be a place-based programme designed to increase the uptake of graduate employment in SMEs, where there are specific demands this has been designed in full consultation with partners,

including what universities and other universities in the region as well as multiple SMEs

so there are there are lots of ambitious objectives outlined in the paper and the programmes are, there are designed to create a solution, focused approach to address the needs and offer flexibility where those needs are in the live Mackie, for both individuals and businesses.

we'd be keen to get the thoughts of this committee

on the opportunities that are there with the requirement in the ongoing development of that we proposed, in the paper that we would like to have a workshop with committee members to continue that ongoing consultation and that design in particular we would really be keen to engage this committee and and,

or get some advice on the detail, including the routes to engagement for businesses, how we work with stakeholders to design the funding roles and the skills support for business offer, including the skills funding element.

and the package is currently in development, so we would between now and September we would be really keen to engage with committee members to develop that further.

I can Michelle.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:39:00

are there any questions or comments from the committee please?

complete.

Tim Craven - 1:39:09

shall a spot of the always excellent up to 2.5, it's mentioning soft skills, yeah liability skills. looking at things that are really valuable for

for business, which has T levels written all over it in terms of why they developed, how they align with businesses are up to levels and support for businesses to to engage with that to build their talent pipeline, part of Ofcom have included as part of this approach to I think that's really important. there was some mechanism we've got, we can

harnessed up to drive that process.

Michelle please,

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:39:52

yeah, thanks to him, I think them, as part of the sofa, we're really keen to continue with that brokerage and that signpost net Paschal spot is exist to enable them to access the multiple programmes that are out there two levels being one of the the pathways available to individuals and businesses that supply.

are absolutely supportive

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:40:15

and very happy involved,

thank you to Martin, please.

thank God, I just on the the

Mr Martin Hathaway - 1:40:23

on that support for employers, that is back to the point I made

earlier on that.

putting pointing employers to what's available now my answer to the problem rather than than take away from promises, we would be cautious of so think about what is advice, we're giving them if it's just this is a list of projects that are currently available, it just adds to the the confusion that there is already out there with people trying to understand it rather than having specialist help and guidance on what their actual requirement is.

we're in a really strange economy as well at the moment, so there are lots of people, there was a lot more businesses investing in

skills training. Most of those are larger businesses, and these these are the these are growing businesses,

the newest who they're spending, money, more money on investing in training and on capital expenditure

currently, which is which is a good thing. However, those at the other end of the scale, there's an awful lot of of SMEs and businesses that were described as not suites of not letting you know, but the those, those not so good employers that are doing no training

because they believe as soon as they train their staff, they will

that they will just go and work somewhere else for more money, because we've got this this this job shortage and so much as I need some recognition, how we

we address those those businesses that are not doing the training and give them some security to access this, because a lot of them have done it previously, so how can we get them back into that market? And investing in their and their staff.

shalt Leith.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:42:05

yeah, I think you know, but the points matter and I think one of the

Michelle Hunter - 1:42:10

things. well, firstly, you know around the signposting, I think we've got the paternity to work with businesses within the impartial support that we offer them to to get them the right spot that they need, but also through this funding them we've got the ability, we'd be really keen to discuss this with you, Martin and colleagues. we've got the ability to be able to look at where the knee days and actually ensure that that pathway is right for the business

and the flexibility through this funding to develop something that really response to business needs.

so yeah, so I think that

yes, phlegmatic, it is not the ability, it's actually the skill set

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:42:52

that skill, so it is very, very different to try to address what

Mr Martin Hathaway - 1:42:56

business school and is a very specific skill say it's not a general one and doing a diagnostic, that's what I'm making, so

there's people in the colleges that have got that skillset that really address if someone needs, but it becomes complicated when it's attached to a product, so you've got a list of your stock roomful of training courses you've got to sell but that doesn't necessarily address the than the volunteers don't become part of that, just pointing to existing products as a system to develop.

That was right for them,

thank you

did come back, Michelle

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:43:33

absolute way, you know, we were keen to to do that and ensure that this is

an impartial service.

next year and so well. First of all, we welcome the opportunity to

Cllr Silvia Dacre - 1:43:48

arrive anyway to be able to attend the workshop. Hopes are being available for that,

and the only other thing I just wanted to comment on was at 3.00.1 6 it talks about

the team of advisers for supporting businesses will be locally based, complimenting local authority officers and wider business support, and all of these things

that's going to be really well tricky. So again we would just anxious that everything is done to try to make sure there's no duplication

or gaps that end up as a result of that.

so yeah.

yeah, thank you

absolutely, and we've been in lots of conversations with local

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:44:31

authority partners. to discuss how that will work for each individual

Michelle Hunter - 1:44:35

region to ensure that we're offering that complimentary.

you know no aligning to existing programmes so yeah absolutely take it on board, thank you.

thank you, Joe, please.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:44:48

OK,

Jo Ledgard, Advisory Representative (DWP) - 1:44:53

so within job centres are starting now to work with

claimants who have some earnings and we're working with them to encourage them to build their skills and increase their earnings.

and we've got some

really nice good news stories where postholders of kind of recognised opportunities

to do more in the workplace and to the benefit of himself and the employer, and actually taken the those kind of suggestions to the employer around how they can do that, so I'd be really happy to kind of bring some of that feedback and also some of the early insight that we're gathering in terms of the conversations that we're having with with those individuals, the employees,

thank you go.

Cllr James Lewis (Leeds City Council) - 1:45:45

is there anybody else who would like to come in on this item, please?

OK no, so I'm gonna turn to the recommendations and I take it everyone, the committee is happy to agree those recommendations.

that's great, thank you, and at that point I thank everybody for coming, nobody's hill's last meeting, you gave it away earlier on in the meeting, and I'm sure we all wish Phil all the best for the future and at that point I shall close the meeting, thank you everybody.