Agenda item
Quarters 3 & 4 Performance Indicator Report (2019/2020) -Employment and Skills
Minutes:
Councillor Shaikh, Executive
Member for Economic Development presented the Quarter 3 & 4
Performance Indicator Reports 2019/2020.
In the discussion, the following
points were made:
·
The meeting was informed that prior
to the Covid-19 lockdown, the Service was well ahead in meeting its
Q3 targets among its priority groups such as residents with long
term conditions, parents of young people in the 18-24 age group and
hard to reach groups such as BAME. Measures are in place to
continue encouraging parents to seek employment support.
·
Members were advised that since the
Covid-19 pandemic, it was noticeable within the Quarter 4 figures
that in the last 3 months there had been an increase in the number
of unemployment claimants in Islington, so the Service has had to
expand the support among its priority groups.
·
Executive Members informed the
meeting that since the pandemic, the Council’s iWork, ACL and
Library Services had to quickly adapt on how they delivered their
day to day tasks contacting their residents online or over the
phone, which is to be commended. The Service recognises that some
residents are digitally excluded but have taken a blended approach
by getting people to phone the library service staff on their
behalf.
·
With regard to employment support,
the Service has been supported by colleagues in social services to
recruit staff for those affected in retail and the hospitality
sector. The Service in the initial 6-7 weeks period was inundated
with requests for support from its residents, however this has now
dwindled.
·
Services have continued online,
adult residents have been encouraged to sign up to ACL courses
online and an increase in new learners interested in improving
their personal circumstances by retraining and re skilling
themselves to prepare for other types of employment or careers post
pandemic has been noticed.
·
With regards to young people, the
Service has kept in contact with those identified by schools as
being at risk of being NEET by continually engaging with the young
people and their parents either by phone or Skype.
·
The meeting was informed that
within a short period of the commencement of lockdown, the online
library service has been expanded, and that residents are now
reading books and literature online. The switch to online library
service has demonstrated that going forward the future prospects
for libraries is promising.
·
The pandemic has resulted in an
increase in Universal Credit claimants, and with the furlough
scheme coming to an end soon, the meeting was advised of an
expectation of an increase in unemployment. The Council
is having conversations within its
Employment board on what type of support available in conjunction
with the other 17 Employment Support Partners (Team
Islington).
·
In addition to the above the
Service continues to work with its skills partners such as Camden
and Islington college, London Met university and City
university, especially as the
Service recognises that support will be required for young people
when schools resume in September 2020. The Director, Employment and
Skills, advised that a report will be brought back to Committee in
the Autumn updating members on how the Service is supporting its adult
residents.
·
The Executive Member informed the
meeting that as a result of Covid-19 and its devastating economic
impact, the Service received £90,000 from the
GLA’s Skills for London fund. The
funds will be used in the re-skilling of its adult residents who
presently receive unemployment benefit. Members were advised that
it is important to recognise that certain sectors will be seriously
affected by job losses and some sectors will take a while to come
back fully. As a result of job losses, the Council is keen on
supporting residents who are interested in seeking careers in both
the technology and creative industries.
·
On the Strategic
Investment Partnership, the meeting was informed that the Council,
in partnership with 3 other boroughs, is considering at means of
addressing youth employment, school leavers and adult retraining.
The Partnership is focussed largely on the knowledge economy, a
recognition that despite having economic clusters within their
boroughs, residents have little access to the opportunities
‘out there’ so partners have devised a programme on how
to resolve it.
·
The meeting was informed that
despite support from government to businesses, it is important to
note that lots of businesses in the borough are not eligible for
financial support, so the Council has stepped in and is currently
offering business support such as
discretionary grant to micro businesses in the borough.
·
On the continued closure of the
libraries, the Executive Member advised that the Council’s
priority at the moment is to ensure safety not only for its users
but also its staff and that in libraries, being closed spaces, it
is important to adhere to scientific evidence and social distancing
rules. The meeting was informed that
although the Council will be keen for users to return books, there
are other pressing issues which still need to be addressed such as
quarantine rules. Cleansing regimes need to be put in place prior
to opening as users handle books and use computers which are ways
that infections can spread.
·
With regard to businesses
ineligible for business support due to government’s strict
criteria, the meeting was advised that the offer is only available
to businesses that pay business rates which is not the case with
micro-businesses in the borough whose rates are included in the
rents paid to private landlords. The council will provide
discretionary grants for businesses such as market traders,
child-care providers, business to business suppliers and businesses
that work in co location spaces.
·
Members were informed that in
addition to the above, the Council will continue to lobby central
government to raise its threshold for business rate
relief so that inner London
borough businesses would be eligible for government
support.
·
On the continued
closure of the Leisure centres, the Director acknowledged that
although there was an expectation that gyms would have been opened, a new opening date is
likely to be late July. Members were reminded that the council is
working on a detailed plan on how and when the facilities will be
opened however issues such as social distancing, cleaning regimes
around the exercise equipment with hard
surfaces will have to be addressed before it is open.
·
The Director acknowledged that
although the Council is confident in GLL plans going forward, it is
important to note viability concerns, especially with no income
being generated during this lockdown period.
·
In response to a question on
whether support existed for local businesses such as cobblers,
hairdressers who rely on office staff footfall for their businesses
and especially as government directive
continues to encourage staff to work from home, the Director
Employment Skills and Culture acknowledged that immediately
lockdown commenced, the council reached out to small businesses in
the 4 established town centre areas, and encouraged to consider
creating an online presence. In addition, the Council’s
Inclusive Officers set up an online directory service on the
Council website, an interactive tool.
·
In addition to the above 3 business
webinars with local businesses were facilitated by Council
officers, an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to businesses
for example on how to take payment online, how to improve their
businesses etc. Feedback from businesses involved in the webinars
was positive and importantly the service has ensured that the
support is not restricted to physical businesses on high streets
but businesses that work from home.
·
The Director informed the meeting
that in the last few months the Service has adapted and learnt
quickly, moving some of it services online, noting that although
ACL courses have been moved online, the Service recognises that
issues with accessibility still exist amongst some priority groups
so the offer is backed up by providing one to one tuition over the phone, providing bite size chunks
and in some instances packs have been printed and posted to
residents so that they are not left unsupported.
·
Members were reminded that although
ACL Courses have always been delivered on library premises, the
lockdown period has suddenly brought about a rethink on how the
Services can be delivered differently, while still recognising that
some residents still have issues of affordability and not having
devices.
·
In response to a question on
whether the Council had been able to identify and reach out to
small micro start-up businesses, especially those without a
presence on the high street, the Executive Member acknowledged the
enormous task for the Council, acknowledging the £2.8 million
received from government although this would only offer support to
4,000 of the 20000 businesses within the borough so the Council
will continue to lobby the government for more funds.
·
The Council is
in partnership with
Capital Enterprise, a start up network which operate across London
to help identify micro businesses in the borough.
The partnership
has assisted in designing the discretionary grant scheme for businesses in co
working spaces.
·
A member enquired whether in light
of the pandemic and associated travel
risks, workplaces would need to be redesigned so as to meet social
distancing rules. The member also enquired whether this period
represents an opportunity for the Council to promote its inclusive
economy agenda where residents would be encouraged to walk and
cycle to work.
·
It was also noted that perhaps the
Council’s focus should now be on how to grow more local
businesses , and that the challenge for the future is to revitalise
the economic health for both the business within in the borough and
for the residents.
·
The Executive Member acknowledged the challenges
ahead in light of the pandemic reminding the meeting that
prior to Covid-19, the
Service was in the process of commissioning a skills strategy
and that a piece of work was
being undertaken to identify what is the need of the local market,
what sectors are viable and which sector’s residents are
employed or working in and welcoming the opportunity to revisit
this piece of work in the future.
·
The Executive Member acknowledged
that going forward a holistic approach would be required, for
example, in addressingany
economic responses as issues with regards transport will need to be
considered.
·
On the issue of youth employment the Director
acknowledged that prior to the
pandemic the service had concerns about young people falling into
NEET and were in discussions with City and Islington, and London
Met, to address this issue but now it looks more
worrying.
·
The Director Employment Skills and
Culture reminded the meeting
that members were
presented with figures of over 2,500 unemployed youth at the last
committee meeting, and although measures had been put in place to
address this with additional resources and funds, however, in the
light of the pandemic this issue would now require a broader plan
along with the intervention of the team with the aim of improving
educational training and employment outcomes.
·
The meeting was informed of the
Council’s bid for some European underspends which will
augment the council's work with young people, and that it is
important to give the young people bursaries to stay in education.
This is being considered by the Council’s Human Resources
department putting together a programme that starts with the
Council itself, as the borough's leading employer, and then
eventually convincing other employers in the borough to follow
suit.
·
In response to a
suggestion about the name of the Committee being changed to
Environment and Inclusive Economy Scrutiny Committee, there was a
general consensus amongst members that this be
considered. The Chair informed the
Clerk to notify Democratic Services of members an interest to
change the name of the Committee.
The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, expressed thanks to the Executive Member and Officers for the enormous work ensuring that services to the residents have continued during these challenging times, welcoming the funds received so far and looking ahead as the Service bids for potential European funding.