Agenda item

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 projects merged to be delivered as a UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) employment support programme. The programme ran until 31 March 2025. Overall, since October 2020 the Employment Solutions Service has delivered 4 employment support programmes, resulting in over 892 people entering employment and 849 into education and training.

Given the success of the employment support programmes and ongoing uncertainty regarding the sustainability and size of the UKSPF, the decision was taken by Council on 5 March 2025 as part of the Budget and Council Tax Report 2025/26 to fund the service permanently by committing £718,000 per year for the service to continue to support local residents into work or training. With this funding secured, the Employment Solutions Service would continue to offer an integrated programme of bespoke pre-employment activity designed to support unemployed residents and residents on low incomes to access the labour market or improve their earning capacity.

In setting output targets there was a recognition that the Employment Solutions Service would support delivery of the wider Pathways 2 Work programme which was agreed by Cabinet in April 2025. The outputs were yet to be agreed and were subject to a Cabinet decision. As the Employment Solutions Service was no longer reliant on grant funding for the service offer, it was the intention to streamline and refocus on client groups that were not supported via other grant funded services. A series of milestones were detailed at Appendix 3.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB), who advised that the recommendations be supported.

Resolved:

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