Issue - meetings

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet note the proposed Employment Solutions targets and milestones for 2025-26.

Consideration was given to the report which detailed the core targets and milestones for the Employment Solutions Service in 2025-26. The Employment Solutions Service was set up in 2020 to deliver a European Social Fund (ESF) Employment Support programme and then latterly from January 2024, both the ESF and Inspire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet note the proposed Employment Solutions targets and milestones for 2025-26.

At the Chair’s invitation the Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy introduced the report making the following points:

·       The Employment Solutions Service was created in October 2020, initially funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) programme.

·       Its primary goal was to support residents in accessing training and employment opportunities, improving financial circumstances, and broadening employment prospects.

·       The Inspire programme merged with the ESF, focusing on increasing residents' earnings capacity and opportunities.

• The ESF programme later merged with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), running until March 2025.

·       In March 2025, the Council decided to allocate £718,000 per year to make the Employment Solutions Service a permanent fixture. This decision was crucial for providing long-term stability and security to the service, which had previously relied on national grants and funding schemes.

·       Since its inception in October 2020, the service had supported over 892 people in gaining employment and nearly 850 people in accessing training opportunities.

·       The report outlined the service's targets and milestones for the upcoming year, including the forecasted support from the Pathways to Work team.

The Chair invited members of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) to raise questions and queries on the points raised earlier.

Councillor Tinsley asked about the geographical spread of service uptake and whether it was more concentrated in Rotherham or evenly spread across the borough. The Employment Solutions Manager confirmed that while delivery tended to be Rotherham-centric, they did work in the wider boroughs, including Rotherham North, Maltby, and Dinnington, with a lot of delivery in community spaces.

Councillor Blackham referred to the additional information provided and asked whether the Employment Solutions Service would be managed separately or alongside the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer. He also inquired about the number of people in the team and the strategic governance group. The Employment Solutions Manager explained that the wider Trailblazer Program commitment was for four hundred job outcomes, with Employment Solutions aiming to deliver 144 job outcomes. They were recruiting twelve new members of staff, with the financial commitment for staffing being around £500,000.

Councillor Yasseen asked about the council's commitment of £718,000 per year and whether it includes existing funded activities or new funding. The Employment Solutions Manager clarified that the £718,000 was for the core team that previously delivered the INSPIRE and ESF programs, and the Pathways to Work Trailblazer was new, standalone funding.

In a follow-up question Councillor Yasseen inquired about the breakdown of outputs and the rationale for not including economically inactive individuals in the Individual Placement Support (IPS) program. The Employment Solutions Manager explained that the economically inactive cohort was targeted under Pathways to Work, and IPS was a niche program for customers in structured recovery from drugs and alcohol addiction, with referrals coming from the Rotherham Drugs and Alcohol Service.

Assurance was sought by Councillor Yasseen about targeted support for specific communities, such as the Roma-Slovakian community. The Employment Solutions Manager explained the programme provided scope to work locally and work was being undertaken with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7