Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2018 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

The Chair welcomed the following external representatives to the meeting:

·         Graham Metcalfe – DWP

·         Richard Locke-Wheaton – Linkage Community Trust

·         Mark Taylor – Lincoln College

·         Farhan Ahmed – Lincoln University

Jay Wilkinson, Strategic Development Project Manager delivered a presentation on Inclusive Growth and covered the following topics:-

·         The outcome of the data about the Labour Market in Lincoln.

·         Key case studies across the country in regards to Inclusive Growth.

o   In light of the Bristol City Fund case study, an opportunity was discussed to convene partners to identify synergies in investment priorities in the city.

o   In light of the Newcastle Skills House case study, an opportunity to explore the businesses case of The Network and its target age groups was discussed.

Question: Was there a big gap between the lowest and highest salaries?

Response: Around £50,000 per annum. The quality would have been poor if everyone was involved which was why it measured by average.

Question: With regards to the Nottingham Transport Case Study, what did they do specifically to improve it?

Response: More services at different times of the day to cater for the people working late and generally making the service more accessible, particularly the trams.

Question: With regards to economic activity, did it include people who were retired?

Response: Yes.

Question: Could the Poverty Strategy be introduced into it?

Response: Yes, there was definitely a link.

Question: How were European qualifications assessed? Was there a way of seeing what contribution European people had brought?

Response: The NVQ levels should be internationally comparable. Local authorities had been carrying out some work trying to gain an understanding of the current landscapes of European population within the county. In terms of Brexit, the implications were being investigated.

Question: Why was the average salary improving? What was the reason?

Response: It was not detailed why it was improving, it just identified that it was. It would be an interesting topic to discuss at the next meeting.

Question: why was the network age limited but ours wasn’t?

Response: It had been limited from 16-24 years because there was a gap within the service provision in Lincoln. Other areas required greater focus upon more than age.

Graham Metcalfe – DWP

-       Questions and Answers from Members

Richard Locke-Wheaton/ Karen Leeman – Linkage Community Trust

-       Questions and Answers from Members

Lincoln College

-       Questions and Answers from Members

Farhan Ahmed – Lincoln University

-       Questions and Answers from Members

Graham Metcalfe, Local Partnership Manager at the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions):-

·         Explained that people who were in full time education were disqualified from claiming an out of work benefit if they were already receiving any other kind of benefit entitlement.

·         Advised that the DWP offered part time courses to provide more career opportunities. They could be varied or amended to ensure that the correct information was given and received.

·         Stated that in regards to accessing training, there was a customer base of 10,000. Six thousand people received support allowance and over half were on benefits.

·         Highlighted that the partnership with the City of Lincoln Council had helped in terms of eligibility as a lot of services had been visited in one place. The DWP would also look for opportunities to use their facilities for interviews.

·         Further advised that there had been suggestions around regeneration in the Lincoln area in regards to construction training. In the past, of the 60 students that had completed the training, 65% of them gained employment. Planning applications and Section 106 agreements would benefit local businesses. Tesco successfully filled 100 vacancies through this process.

Invited Members’ questions and comments.

Question: In regards to the Section 106 agreement helping businesses gain employment, was this an idea or was it already in place?

Response: Tesco had been successful in employing people this way. If the DWP were shown the details they could look to do something similar.

Question: In regards to the Section 106, was it happening at other local authorities?

Response: If it was to take place over a wider area local residents could benefit.

Question: Were employers willing to take on ex-offenders?

Response: They were the hardest people to place. If there was a skills gap it could be possible. Employers such as Siemens were known to be sympathetic towards this.

Question: What cross boundary opportunities were there for ex-offenders?

Response: The DWP provided a pre-release service however not everyone who had been released from prison resided in Lincoln.

Question: where had the short courses taken place and had it helped?

Response: Yes, it had put people in a better position for employment.

Question: Did the Job Centre let people know about career opportunities?

Response: The Job Centre ran sessions to make people aware of what was available.

Richard Locke-Wheaton, Employment Services Team Leader at the Linkage Trust:-

·         Explained that Linkage Trust was a Lincoln based charity that supported people with learning disabilities.

·         Advised that as an organisation it aimed to build a personalised package through 1:1 training and try to match an employer to their needs.

·         Highlighted the challenges that an individual would face when applying for a job which were:

-       Applications not being accessible online.

-       Job specifications being too wide so it was difficult to understand the skills needed.

-       Lack of confidence/ability.

-       Transport.

-       Lack of general support.

Invited Members’ questions and comments.

Question: What educational work had Linkage Trust been involved in?

Response: From a student concept,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Members had nothing further to raise following the presentations.

Members discussed the content of the work programme.

RESOLVED that the work programme be agreed subject to the following amendements:

1.    The following agenda items be removed:

-       Charity Sellers and Street Traders

-       Lincoln Prison

-       Murder Rate in Lincoln

-       Pay Rates in Lincoln

-       Street Surfaces

-       Unitary Authority

Other agenda items be amended as follows:

-       Inequality to Health Inequality

-       Living Wage to Transport and Inclusive Growth

RESOLVED that the report be noted.