July 2005
The quest for full employment
The government's pre-election pledge to raise the UK's employment rate to a record 80% presents a massive challenge. Whilst the rate amongst whites is currently around 75%, in some black and minority ethnic (BME) communities it is as low as 44%.
Rocket Science recently worked with the National Employment Panel (NEP) on regional consultations with BME-led training providers, ahead of the publication of the Panel's major new policy document, Enterprising People, Enterprising Places (May 2005). We suggest here that the Government's drive for increased efficiencies from the procurement and delivery of services may be at odds with its objective of reaching BME communities and getting the "hardest to reach" into work.
Not only would meeting the election manifesto target of 80% put the UK well ahead of all its OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) competitors, it would also mean the significant targeting of public resources in areas and on communities that currently lag well below the 80% figure. The UK's inner cities will require net increases of tens of thousands of jobs to get the employment rate up to 75% (let alone 80%) - inner London requiring 165,000, Birmingham 57,000, Glasgow 36,000, Liverpool 30,000. Employment amongst the Bangladeshi community is only 44%, amongst Pakistanis 45% and Black Africans 57%.
The NEP's recommendations, accepted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, include:
better targeting of resources to five cities, where over two thirds of ethnic minorities live - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, and Leeds/Bradford
an integrated, employer-led employment and skills framework in each of these five cities
outreach support focused on those ethnic minority people currently excluded from or hardest to reach in the labour market.
Black and minority ethnic groups often get labelled as 'hard to reach,' yet in reality are more likely to be out of the reach of mainstream statutory agencies (such as Jobcentre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council). The consultations facilitated by Rocket Science suggested that the term 'hard to reach groups' is something of a misnomer to many BME community-based organisations, which are well networked into different communities and/or with the particular clients whom the state professes to target.
The problem is as much in the capacity of the statutory agencies and funders either to listen to or to do business with this level or size of operation - a tendency that might be perpetuated by the government's Gershon-inspired reforms to find greater efficiencies and savings from its procurement of public services by reducing the number of preferred suppliers or 'lead providers.' Achieving the objectives of Enterprising People, Enterprising Places - measures to increase ethnic minority employment and business growth may first require squaring this circle. The efficiency savings generated from the Government's recasting of the delivery of its welfare and employment services seem at odds with the objective of reaching those communities and groups that are the target of government policy.
For further information on Rocket Science's current work on employment and skills contact: John Griffiths(London) or Richard Scothorne(Edinburgh)
Securing the future
In March the Government published two joint documents laying out its new strategy for sustainable development until 2020. One Future, Different Paths represents a commitment from each of the devolved administrations to work together on sustainable development whilst Securing the Future is a detailed strategy for England. Securing the Future is likely to act as a precursor to the Scottish Executive's strategy, due in October. So what does the framework represent?
The relevance of sustainable development to all aspects of Government, civil service, public, private and voluntary sector activity is a theme that continues throughout the Government's strategy. The growing profile of social, environmental and economic problems at local and global scales - and their attendant inter-linkages - seems to be acknowledged in a way that does not view sustainable development as simply one issue amongst all the others, but rather one issue that is applicable to all the others.
Overall it represents the Government's first new coherent sustainable development strategy since 1999. It was produced following a two-year consultation process named Taking it On.
One of the most striking things about the new strategy is the way in which it seeks to embed the principles of sustainable development within the established structures and behaviour patterns of society. Consumers, for instance, are the subject of two whole chapters - Helping people make better choices and One planet economy: sustainable consumption and production. The strategy also carries a requirement for all Government departments and their agencies to produce sustainable development action plans by the end of the year.
There are commitments from the Home Office, ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister), DfES (Department for Education and Skills) and the Treasury, as well as a requirement for Local Strategic Partnerships to be responsible for implementing the strategy and developing sets of local indicators to measure progress.
In local government, the emphasis will now be on creating 'sustainable communities' that combine environmental and social considerations with economic development.
At the regional level, too, Regional Economic Strategies will have to include specific detail on the delivery of sustainable development through the multitude of existing regional, sub-regional and inter-regional bodies, partnerships and strategies.
Public sector procurement also comes under the spotlight, with the Government apparently keen to be seen to be 'walking the talk' by ensuring that goods and services are not purchased from sources with low social and environmental standards and the goods themselves are as low-impact as possible.
A National Action Plan for sustainable procurement will lay out the detail, and is to be developed by a Sustainable Procurement Task Force.
For business, there is less in the way of new structures or initiatives, but instead a reinforcement of existing policy on issues like social and environmental reporting (required under the new Operating and Financial Review), CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and international equitable trading. There is also commitment to the concept of emissions trading (being developed at EU level) as well as the expanding role of the private sector in tackling poverty in developing countries.
Overall this is a promising strategy that carries some very important implications for organisations across all sectors. The test of any strategy, however, is the difference it makes at ground level and here the strategy carries more than just ambition. Sets of indicators have been developed covering a variety of social, environmental and economic factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, workless households, educational achievement, homelessness, life expectancy and health inequalities. These and many other indicators will be used to measure progress, eventually perhaps replacing GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as a more sophisticated barometer of the state of the nation.
As well as an ability to analyse and synthesise policy documents, Rocket Science works on a range of topics and themes related to this policy. If you would like to know more about our work please contact: John Griffiths(London) or Richard Scothorne(Edinburgh)
Raising standards in urban housing
Ensuring quality design in new high-density urban housing is the focus for Making Places Work, an initiative led by City of Edinburgh Council. Lessons can be learned from Corbusier and Copenhagen, as well as from Scotland.
Following a report on Developing Urban Housing, commissioned by Communities Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council, Rocket Science are facilitating a series of consultation workshops, involving key individuals, services and stakeholder groups.
Four seminars will take place with representatives from across City of Edinburgh Council to help ensure that the quality of housing design is seen as a corporate issue. 'Designing in' green waste disposal and building 'lifetime neighbourhoods' - which allow people to stay in their chosen area as their individual or family situation changes - are just as vital as the space standards to be applied to construction of new homes.
Another four seminars will engage a wide range of stakeholders including registered social landlords, architects and private developers, so that the debate on developing effective, high-density housing is informed by as many perspectives as possible.
As well as raising new standards for housing in Edinburgh, it is hoped that Making Places Work will make a contribution to the quality of urban housing across Scotland.
Rocket Science has worked with Alan Howie, Head of Housing Development and Riccardo Marini, City Design Lead at City of Edinburgh Council, on the planning and facilitation of the stakeholder workshops. A major conference is planned for later in the year. To hear more about our work in this area please contact Bob Forsyth
Ready for the double whammy?
The end of the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and the European Social Fund (ESF) is estimated to cause an annual shortfall of around £180m in funding for voluntary and community-sector organisations. The 2004 Spending Review set up a Local Community Sector Taskforce to look into practical ways to minimise the impact on the sector..
Working with the London Development Agency and Government Office for London, Rocket Science has devised a Readiness Assessment Tool for grant-funded projects to use in planning their succession or exit strategies from SRB and/or ESF grant funding.
The Government sees the voluntary and community sector as key to its quest to reform public services in the UK given its capacity to create 'social capital' and build local partnerships, at the same time as delivering vital services. Since the Treasury's Cross Cutting Review of the Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Service Delivery (2002), £125 million has been set aside under the Futurebuilders fund - and a further £80 million in the form of the ChangeUp programme - to create a lasting infrastructure that will enable voluntary and community organisations to work more effectively alongside the statutory sector.
However, just as the potential role of the voluntary and community sector comes under the spotlight, the winding up - by 2007 - of the European Social Fund and the Single Regeneration Budget will mean major upheaval to a swathe of locally-based organisations that have become dependent on grant funding to deliver projects and services.
Many smaller community organisations struggle to establish themselves on a self-sustaining basis and continue to require pump-priming or grant funding in order to meet clearly identified needs. Investment in new infrastructure to sustain the sector is not a replacement for project funding. If projects and organisations go to the wall, the loss of social capital could be much greater than the financial capital involved, which in Government budgetary terms is relatively small.
Partly to address the double-whammy created by the ending of ESF and SRB, the 2004 Spending Review set up the Local Community Sector Taskforce. Its remit is to ensure that central, regional and local government consider measures to minimise the impact on voluntary and community sector organisations. The Taskforce has illustrated the extent of its task by estimating the value of this funding to the sector. At its peak SRB was contributing around £120 million a year, whilst ESF was contributing a further £50-60 million, on conservative estimates, creating a projected annual deficit in the region of £180 million.
In helping voluntary and community sector organisations to manage the transition from SRB and ESF, the Taskforce has the opportunity to piggy-back on the new Local Area Agreements (LAAs). Covering more than 80 local authority areas in England (and due to be rolled out to all top-tier authorities in 2007), LAAs provide a framework for simplifying the availability of funding for short-life projects and mainstream services in four key service areas: children and young people; safer and stronger communities; healthier communities and older people and economic development and enterprise.
Rocket Science, working with the London Development Agency and Government Office for London, has devised the Readiness Assessment Tool for grant-funded projects to use in planning their succession or exit strategies from SRB and/or ESF grant funding and to assess their preparedness for delivering local services. With an enhanced role anticipated for the voluntary and community sector, it is increasingly important that robust assessments of grant-funded projects inform potential future service delivery, rather than serve as stand-alone academic exercises. The tool focuses on forward planning and on which of four possible succession routes - mainstreaming, enterprise, seeking further funding or project closure - might be most suitable.
For further information on the Readiness Assessment Tool, its use in the context of the end of ESF and SRB and the roll out of Local Area Agreements, please contact: Ruth Evans
Young people's health
Young people from across Scotland are being invited to attend a conference in Glasgow on 29 August, to discuss the issues that affect their health and to consider how these issues should be communicated to the appropriate policy makers.
Up to 200 delegates aged 14-25 will represent different health board areas to ensure widespread representation. The format of the conference has been shaped by a young people's advisory group, to offer a mixture of workshops and discussions which promise a fun and productive day.
Rocket Science has been commissioned by NHS Health Scotland and YouthLink Scotland to organise the conference, after working on the successful Approaches: The Young People and Health conference which took place in January 2005. Approaches was attended by over 260 delegates, including policy makers and practitioners from local and national, statutory and voluntary agencies in areas such as health, education, social work, mainstream youth organisations and specialist services for socially excluded young people. The conference aimed to look at young people's health and well-being in a broad-based, holistic way, linking policy makers, researchers and practitioners. It also provided an opportunity to share and showcase practice, information and resources from around Scotland and further afield.
There is no charge for the young people's event in August. For further information on either event, please contact Julia McGhee
Update on Welfare to Work
This year's Welfare to Work Convention in Birmingham was dominated by Government's continued determination to transform the welfare state from a passive 'one-size-fits-all safety net' to a more flexible system which enables people to progress up the socio-economic ladder.
The conference outlined the key challenges for Labour's third term. These include:
raising the UK employment rate to 80%
reducing inactivity rates and the numbers of Incapacity Benefit claimants
ending the discrimination that continues to hold back BME groups
increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Welfare to Work system
the link between the welfare agenda and the national skills strategy
the need to focus future interventions on cities and key city regions.
Raising the employment rate to 80% will require 2.8 million more people to be in work, across all cities (particularly London), regions and client groups. In stark statistical terms, this means moving 700,000 sick or disabled people, 500,000 BME individuals and 800,000 people over 50 from welfare and into work. To achieve the BME targets, the Government has accepted the National Employment Panel's recommendations to focus initially on five cities - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds/Bradford and Leicester - which contain more than two thirds of Britain's ethnic minority population.
With 2.6 million people on Incapacity Benefit (IB), inactivity is much higher than unemployment. One million of these have indicated that they would be prepared to work again. However, over 85% have been on IB for longer than one year and, on recent evidence,those who claim IB for more than two years are far more likely to retire or to die than ever return to work. Progressing IB claimants into work will rely heavily on the successes and roll out of current interventions and pilots, e.g. moving a further 200,000 people into work via the New Deal for Disabled People, 200,000 via Pathways to Work and 50,000 via BoND (Building on New Deal).
Coupled with this challenge is the distinct impression that there will be fewer jobs in future for the lowest skilled - 95% of new jobs created between 1999 and 2010 will be at Level 2 or above. Sir Digby Jones told the CBI Annual Conference last year, 'I can see a point in about 10 years time when there simply won't be any unskilled jobs left in the UK.' Employment services will need to be harnessed increasingly to future skills investments if the challenges outlined above are to be achieved.
Hence there is an increasing push from Government for local/regional area approaches to skills and employment interventions. A further 66 Local Area Agreement pilots were announced on 22 June 2005. These require local partners (led by local authorities) to work on negotiating better joint working on four key themes/areas of government: children and young people; safer and stronger communities; healthier communities and older people and economic development and enterprise. Local Employment and Skills Plans will need to be jointly approved by DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) and DfES.
Rocket Science has worked at both strategic and operational level with some of the key agencies at the heart of both the Welfare to Work and skills agendas. We have designed a range of tools to enable partners to work more effectively at the local and sub-regional level and to drive up their performance and quality of provision. These tools include:
CoPro, which helps organisations to improve their performance by ensuring clients are an integral part of the service design and development process
Partnership Development Tools (including a new interactive Partnership Evaluation Tool), which help partnerships to assess their current situation, identify areas for improvement and take appropriate action. They can also help new partnerships to test whether all the prerequisites for success are in place; and facilitate partnerships to respond to weaknesses and drive up performance.
Our Labour Market Intermediary Scorecard which helps LMIs to compare themselves with a standard of excellence and build a development plan on the results
For information on Rocket Science's involvement in Welfare to Work policy and programmes please contact Susan Byrne
For further information on our products portfolio please contact Richard Scothorne
Awww, thanks!
Rocket Science is committed to ensuring that our service continues to meet the needs of clients and potential clients. This means you. Our thanks to everyone who participated in our recent User Value Survey, carried out by Parallel 56. You said the nicest things...
The survey showed that having the ability to customise our service is of key importance to you - 89% of you thought it was either essential or very important. You like the fact that we 'suggest new and innovative ideas' and 'take things one step further.' You think it helps that we can engage with people at all levels, from board meetings to focus groups with young people.
Having knowledge of the area you work in was significant for 73% of you, with 68% looking for a track record in it.
We are using your feedback to improve the way we work. It will also help us in our marketing of two of our products: our Bid Assessment Tool, designed to score the quality of grant and mainstream funding proposals - and e-Scorecards, a web enabled system that enables organisations, partnerships and networks to pinpoint their development needs and measure their progress.
Do you know...?
My first was held in Rambouillet in 1975. The UK put me up in Birmingham in 1998. Let's hope that I will be remembered for more, this time round, than a commemorative tartan chosen by Cherie Blair. What am I?
Answers in an e-mail please.
Congratulations to Anne McConaghy, Midlothian Council who knew that if the Irish Times was carrying a story about Disney wanting to put the embalmed body of Lenin on display in a scary new attraction at Euro Disney, the date could only be 1 April, 1995. (Source: www.museumofhoaxes.com)