Issue - meetings

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its three appendices and to make the following resolutions:  

(1)  That the Cabinet approves the continuation of the ChooseWork project for a further three years from March 2017 andthat Chichester District Council continues to support the project by hosting it and part funding it at 30% of the total cost from unspent balances and the unallocated New Homes Bonus.

(2)  That the Economic Development Manager and Partnerships Officer seeks and agrees partnership contributions and match funding towards the balance of the cost of the project.

(3)  That, if there is a shortfall in funding secured from partners, a further report is made to the Cabinet to consider the future of the programme.

(4)  That the Cabinet considers the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as set out in section 8.4 of the report.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the continuation of the ChooseWork project for a further three years from March 2017 and that Chichester District Council continues to support the project by hosting it and part funding it at £25,000 per annum from the remaining unspent allocation of £10,000 from the New Homes Bonus and the remainder to be included in the draft base budget from 2017-2018 be approved.

(2)  That the Economic Development Manager and Partnerships Officer seek and agree partnership contributions and match-funding towards the balance of the cost of the ChooseWork Project be approved.

(3)  That if there is a shortfall in funding secured from partners then a further report be submitted to the Cabinet to consider the future of the ChooseWork programme.

(4)  That having considered the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as set out in para 8.4 of the agenda report the same be duly noted. 

The Cabinet considered the agenda report and its three appendices (copies attached to the official minutes).

The report was introduced by Mrs Lintill.

Mr Oates and Miss Loaring were in attendance.

During a summary of sections 4, 5 and 6 of the report and the case studies on pages 48 and 49 (appendix 3) Mrs Lintill commended the comprehensive report and the very positive success story which it described. The views recently expressed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were set out in para 8.4 of the report. 

Mrs Lintill announced a proposed resolution that varied from the officers’ recommendation in para 3.1 of the report as follows:

‘That the Cabinet approves the continuation of the ChooseWork project for a further three years from March 2017 and Chichester District Council continues to support the project by hosting it and part funding it at £25,000 per annum from the remaining unspent allocation of £10,000 from the New Homes Bonus and the remainder to be included in the draft base budget from 2017-2108.’  

Mr Oates drew attention to the summary of the successful outputs in appendix 1 and commented on how the project had a beneficial impact on the business community. 

Mr Dignum stated the importance of this project for CDC and he also referred to the very pleasing outcomes set out in appendix 1. He emphasised the importance of being able to gain employment: it brought dignity to people and where someone needed help to obtain a job this project would be very beneficial. It was hoped that other organisations would follow CDC’s lead and contribute financially to enable the programme to its current level.

Mr Finch concurred with Mr Dignum; he praised the report and the very important work being done by this project to help people find work. He enquired if it would be possible for the project to measure the results required by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in order to be sure to secure funding. Miss Loaring advised that CDC officers were already discussing that with the DWP and once it was known what was required CDC officers would endeavour to ensure compliance.

Mr Barrow commended this superb scheme, which demonstrated that CDC was a caring council. He was moved by some of the case studies in appendix 2. He asked what progress had been made in securing partners, what would happen if they were not forthcoming and whether any larger private businesses in the area had been approached. Miss Loaring briefly outlined the present or prospective conversations with CDC officers. Mr Oates explained that although so far no private firms had been approached, a sponsorship scheme was being prepared in some detail in order to discuss contributions of what would amount to relatively small sums for a very important project. Mr Over pointed out that the outcome of an application by CDC to the National Lottery Fund was awaited.         

Decision

The Cabinet resolved unanimously by a show of hands to make the following resolution,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 264

The committee is requested to consider the future options for the Choose Work Project as set out in sections 5 and 6  and to make recommendations to Cabinet about the future direction and funding of the project.

The committee considered this report (copy attached to the official minutes).

Mr Oates and Ms Loaring from CDC and Gary Edwards from DWP attended  presented the report.  Mr Oates provided an update on inaccuracies in the report as follows:

·         Page 1, Exec Summary, the second sentence across lines 2, 3 and 4 should read: “This project was set up by Chichester in Partnership as part of its ‘Getting people into Work Strategy’ in 2012, and has delivered 187 work placements helping 94 local residents back into work, with an estimated saving to the public purse of £772,586.”

·         Page 2, section 4.3, line 8 – delete 25% and replace with 47%

·         Page 2, section 4.3, line 9 – delete 23 persons and replace with 44 persons

·         Page 2, section 4.3, line 11 – delete £8,956 and replace with at least £8,219

·         Page 2, section 4.3, line 12– The final sentence should read: From 2013 to date, the project has cost in total £130,367.25. 189 work experience placements have been delivered and 94 persons are now in employment, Page 4, section 6.2.1, line 2 – delete £114,000 (£38,00pa) and replace with £120,000 (£40,000pa)

·         A corrected table at section 3.1 (page 4) of the Evaluation was circulated (copy attached to the official minutes).

The committee made the following comments:

·         Queried the reason for the lack of funding offered by partners – The housing associations referred to the project but hadn’t been around the partnership table, however they work on a wider basis now.

·         There has been an estimated saving of £777,000 on the public purse so unsure why the Department of Works & Pension (DWP) are not prepared to further fund this project.

·         Queried the meaning of ‘a more holistic and personal development approach’ – Some people need more ongoing support (training, coaching, confidence building, encouragement) and/or they may have low level mental health problems. Support does not cease and case workers are in continuous communication with work seekers using formal and informal contact.

·         Part of the scheme is engaging with employers to encourage them to offer placements

·         The project is a Chichester brand. It has no competitors. The council has started to create a market and is not limited as to who it can work with. Officers will approach the county council as there are links with the Think Family project. One other authority had approached us to use our brand but they were not going to deliver a sufficiently similar project so it was decided not to share it.

·         The project has helped mostly Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants however we are now being requested by DWP as part funders to help claimants on Employment Support Allowance (ESA) as well. These are people who may not be able to work due to illness or disability. The number of ESA claimants in the district is much higher than for JSA

·         Queried the cases coming forward, how long they had been unemployed, number of ex-offenders, etc – This was exclusively through the Job Centre  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107