Agenda item

A report and presentation relating to the ‘creating fair employment and good work for all’ theme of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, “Equally Well: A healthier, fairer future for North Tyneside 2021- 2025” will be provided

The Board considered a report which provided an update in relation to the creating fair employment and good work for all theme of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. “Equally Well: a healthier, fairer future for North Tyneside 2021-2025.

It was highlighted that there is two-way relationship between work and health – good work is both a result and driver of good health, impacting on the lives of residents and their communities.

There are specific barriers in which some of the most economically inactive residents face to engage within the labour market and these residents require targeted support to move closer to and access work.

Key activity from partners, highlighting progress against the implementation plan for 2024/25 included:

·       Continuing to monitor data and insight analysis to understand the employment and skills needs of different residents and communities and identify and address any gaps in support

-        The North Tyneside Employability Partnership, involving key partners, use data and intelligence to inform the targeting support for residents and businesses

-        Funding has been provided by NECA to employ an Employability Partnership Co-ordinator and Employer Engagement Officer to collect intelligence and ensure the coordination of employment and skills support

-        The intelligence has been used to inform the commissioning of devolved employment and skills funding

·       Deliver personalised holistic employment support – Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for people in drug and alcohol treatment

-        North Tyneside Council will receive funding in 2024-25 and 2025-26 to employ a senior employment specialist and two employment specialist roles to deliver IPS for drug and alcohol services

-        IPS is a work only intervention, with the aim to support people in paid, mainstream jobs

·       Understand and address reasons for economic inactivity due to physical health and mental health conditions and developing a plan to address these barriers through employment

-        Levels of economic inactivity have increased since Covid-19 with significant increases of those reporting long-term health conditions

-        Since the opening of the Working Well Tyneside Hub in North Shields, over 10,000 people have visited receiving one to one support to address barriers to employment

A presentation was also provided to the Board which gave further detail on the evaluation of Working Well North Tyneside Hubs.  The presentation highlighted the interim evaluation and key findings as follows:

•        45% of the individuals registered found out by ‘Word of Mouth’

•        The Hubs have exceeded north east CA targets on residents and businesses engaged

•        Data shows that the Hubs are supporting a diverse range of participants in terms of age, ethnicity, economic participation and skills and qualifications.

•        A partnership approach is providing more collaboration, coordination and reduced duplication - a shared physical space for partners to co-locate ensures that collaboration remains on the day-to-day agenda of partners

•        A key benefit is the ability for individuals to address multiple issues or needs through a single visit

In terms of areas for improvement the Board were informed of the findings as being:

•        Further integration and engagement of partner services and programmes including any new services or partners delivering in the area

•        A recognised need for a more sustained focus on health as a catalyst to attract residents to the Hubs

•        Continually evolve and extend the programme of events and activities available through the Hubs, particularly to attract any groups underrepresented in participation data

•        A number of partners acknowledged or highlighted that they need to find ways to further increase their involvement with the Hubs including a need to ensure spaces for skills training.

•        Accessing data or working with North Tyneside Council to develop data to enable:

o   Detailed understanding of who is accessing the Hubs, why they are doing so, what support different groups or types of beneficiary are receiving and what outcomes or impacts they are achieving

o   Holistic impact, return on investment and value for money assessment

o   Enhanced understanding of engagement - analysing data on attendance against a detailed programme of events over the entire delivery timescale to understand what has proved particularly attractive to inform future scheduling and programming

o   Understanding of information and intelligence on those who are immediately signposted or referred on to other support and not registered by the programme

o   Attempts to quantify the impact or benefit for partners.

With regards to supporting people with a view to getting them back in to employment the Board were informed of potential opportunities to explore integrated models/ways of working, the importance of exploring opportunities such as linkages to the national review of ‘fit notes’, and the importance of conversations taking place between partners.

The Chair, on behalf of the Board, gave thanks to those involved who have worked hard to get the Hubs up and running and working in the right way to engage with residents The Chair also highlighted the importance of the partnership approach which is being taken.

RESOLVED: The Board:

a)   Was assured that respective partnerships are making progress in delivering the actions for creating fair employment and good work for all

b)   Requested that respective partnerships submit further progress reports to the Board in relation to its implementation plan for next year, the delivery of those actions and their outcomes