Content

8.1

The Head of
Employment, Skills and Economy introduced the report which outlined
the opportunity presented by Connect to Work to enhance labour
market access and job sustainability for residents with multiple
and/or complex barriers to the labour market. It also mapped out a
local delivery plan for the programme and identified key roles and
responsibilities of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority,
Sheffield City Council and
contractors.

 

 

8.2

RESOLVED
UNANIMOUSLY: That Economic Development, Skills and Culture
Policy Committee:-
 
(a) Note the aims of the
Government’s Connect to Work Programme of targeted employment
support and the opportunity this presents – as part of South
Yorkshire’s Pathways to Work system – to enhance
service delivery for Sheffield residents who are at significant
disadvantage in the labour market.
 
(b) Note the positive impact of
Sheffield City Council’s Local Supported Employment
Programme, which is intended to form a key element of Connect to
Work.

(c) Approve the receipt by
Sheffield City Council of Connect to Work funds, designated by the
Department for Work and Pensions to South Yorkshire Mayoral
Combined Authority (SYMCA), through a £7.28m grant award to
Sheffield City Council by SYMCA, including Sheffield City Council
becoming the accountable body for such funding and entering into
the grant agreement with SYMCA, such approvals in this
recommendation (c) to be subject to the grant agreement being
approved by the Council’s finance department and legal
department.

(d) Approve Sheffield City Council
using part of the funding described in recommendation (c) above to
commission the appointment of delivery staff and community-based
specialists for the period up to March 2030 with an estimated value
of up to £2.2m.

(e) Note that the balance of the
funding described in recommendation (c) above is to be retained
centrally by Sheffield City Council to cover its costs of
implementing the Connect to Work programme for the period up to
March 2030.

(f) Approve Sheffield City Council
implementing the ‘SEQF in Sheffield’ local delivery
plan for Sheffield as outlined in section 2.6 of this report and
the ‘non-health IPS in Sheffield’ local delivery plan
for Sheffield as outlined in section 2.7 of this report.

(g) Note the proposed roles and
responsibilities for Sheffield City Council as a Delivery Area
Member in South Yorkshire’s Connect to Work
Programme.

 

 

 

 

8.3

Reasons for
Decision

 

 

8.3.1

Connect to Work, as a Government programme
designated to Mayoral Combined Authorities and Delivery Area
Members (i.e. Local Authorities) presents a significant,
longer-term funding opportunity to increase capacity within the
employment support system to support residents with multiple and/or
complex barriers to the labour market. The proposed Sheffield
programme will build on existing skills, knowledge and capacity
within SCC and Sheffield’s provider network to increase the
availability of high[1]quality IPS and SEQF provision for
disadvantaged out-of-work residents seeking support to find a job,
and people who are in-work but vulnerable in their
employment.

 

 

8.4

Alternatives
Considered and Rejected

 

 

8.4.1

Alternative Option 1: All-regional
commission, no local delivery
 
In this scenario, SYMCA – as
the accountable body for the South Yorkshire programme –
would commission all activity centrally, to be delivered across
South Yorkshire by one or more providers.
 
This option was rejected on the
basis that local variances would be difficult to account for,
resulting in challenges responding to local needs (based on
demographics), reaching priority groups with targeted hyper-local
projects, and providing ease of access to
residents.
 
Additionally, this approach would
result in the loss of skills and experience from within the Local
Authorities’ in-house SEQF teams, which have successfully
delivered the Local Supported Employment programme since 2022 and
are well-placed to seamlessly transition into Connect to
Work.

 

 

8.4.2

Alternative Option 2: No regional
commission, only local delivery
 
In this scenario, all Connect to
Work activity would be delivered and/or commissioned at local
level, with no regional commission. Some provision is most suited
to a pan-regional approach, and it makes sense for interested
parties to be able to bid for one larger contract rather than four
smaller ones (in each Local Authority
area).
 
This option was rejected on the
basis that existing infrastructure put in place through delivery of
SYMCA’s Working Win programme provides access to IPS health
support in Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, and
deconstructing this infrastructure Page 44 would be both costly and
time consuming, with no guaranteed benefits in terms of generating
referrals and ensuring the availability of quality provision
available to residents. With investment in IPS and SEQF
significantly increasing, partners agreed that building on what is
already in place – through another regional commission
complemented by new local activity – would be the most
effective way to seamlessly transition into Connect to
Work.

 

 

8.4.3

Alternative Option 3: SCC delivers
all local IPS and SEQF activity in-house
 
SCC is intended to be the
recipient of funds from SYMCA for non[1]health IPS services targeted at priority
groups, and SEQF to enable continuation and upscaling of activity
currently delivered by Local Supported Employment Sheffield. In the
event of contracting to third parties, SCC will be responsible for
procuring appropriately skilled providers which are able to deliver
IPS and/or SEQF to the requisite standard to ensure fidelity
standards are met. This will require appropriate resourcing of
contractors, the appointment of skilled, qualified advisors,
investment in training and robust contract management, to ensure
high quality services can be delivered at scale to achieve
contracted outputs and outcomes.
 
SCC’s proposed hybrid
approach – to directly deliver some SEQF and IPS services,
and commission others – is intended to (1) build upon the
existing successful direct delivery of Local Supported Employment
and retain valued Council officers, (2) mitigate financial risk for
SCC, given the need to recruit significant numbers of advisors for
a fully direct-delivered service, with funding only guaranteed to
2029-30 (3) leverage the skills and experience of external
specialists who are currently operating to the IPS and/or SEQF
models, or who have the capacity to develop these competencies, (3)
and draw on the strengths of Sheffield’s successful VCFSE
employment and skills network, to identify and engage with eligible
participants, make services accessible to residents in trusted
community locations, and support valued third-sector
provision.