A joined-up approach in local government to tackle worklessness

Kathy Melling and Nick MoonKent County CouncilBASE Conference, September 2008

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• An introduction to Kent County Council • Kent’s priorities for worklessness • An introduction to Supporting Independence (SIP) • An introduction to Kent Supported Employment (KSE) • How did we link up?• What outcomes have we seen? • What risks and failures have we come across? • What are the benefits?

An introduction to Kent and KCC•England’s largest county

•Population: 1.3 million

•A top performing 4-star council (CPA)

•Gateway to SE England and Europe

•1 county and 12 districts (and one UA)

•84 Councillors: 57 Con, 21 Lab, 6 LD

•Leader and 8 Cabinet Members

•KCC budget £2,200m, average spend of £1,600 per citizen per year

•A diverse county – traditional view of the Garden of England in parts, but pockets of complex and stubborn disadvantage, both rural and urban.

•An east/west split, with significant problems in coastal areas

Worklessness in Kent• 78,000 working age out-of-work benefit claimants in

Kent – 10% of the working age pop• 62% of all claimants on incapacity benefits• Three-quarters claiming for more than 2 years, over

half for more than 5 years• Some communities where over half the population are

dependent on benefits – in the second percentile nationally

• These communities suffer from complex, multiple disadvantages

0.4 - 9.3%9.3 - 15.8%15.8 - 24.6%24.6 - 51.1% Source: DWPSource: DWP

Maidstone

Tunbridge Wells

Dartford

Gravesend

Sevenoaks

Ashford

Sittingbourne

Isle of Sheppey

Canterbury

Whitstable &Herne Bay

Margate

Folkestone

Dover

Ramsgate

Tonbridge

All benefit claimants (IB, Lone parents, JSA)LSOA level, Kent. May 2007

Rate of claimants (total)as % of working age pop

Reasons for claiming IB in Kent

Corporate targets around worklessness• Vision for Kent: Economic success –

Opportunities for all, and Improved health, care and well-being

• Active Lives: Ensure that people who want to work are supported in doing so

• National Indicators relating to employment of disadvantaged groups

• Kent Agreement 2 NI 152 – working-age people on out-of-work benefits

Supporting Independence Programme

• Support, co-ordinate and refocus the work of the county council and partners to increase the number of individuals leading independent lives

• Evidence-based approach• Identify barriers to successful delivery and outcomes

of service for end-users• Ensure SIP integral to KCC policies and strategy e.g.

Towards 2010 , LAA2• Making the data REAL

SIP: breaking the spiral

SIP: who does what

Government policy contextLocal policy context

Towards 2010 targetsKA 1 and 2

Preventative14 – 24 Innovation Unit

Extension of vocational curriculum Apprenticeship Programme

Kent Community Programme

ResponsiveWelfare Reform Agenda

Kent Employability Strategy Kent NOW programme

KA2 outcomes

SIP: positive outcomes

• Living in a ward with a SIP focus significantly improves your chances of exiting benefit dependency than if you live in a disadvantaged ward without a SIP focus

• In wards like Cliftonville West, there’s a 29% higher chance of exiting benefit dependency than in other disadvantaged wards in the South EastOxford University Department of Social Policy and Social Work Research, 2007

Kent Supported Employment

• Market leader in supporting those furthest away from the labour market

• Gross spend of £1.3m• Workforce of approximately 45 FTE• Works with those referred through Care Management

and CMHTs• Work Prep, Workstep and Pathways to Work• LSC funding – support to colleges• Supports modernisation agenda for both LD and MH

How did we link up?

• Personality, flexibility, willingness to engage• Corporate priority – SIP as strategy, KSE as

delivery• Expertise in KCC around welfare reform,

programme delivery• Need for a corporate strategy for

employability• Political support for joined-up working –

cabinet portfolio holders providing cohesion at councillor level

How did we link up?

• Political support from KASS driven by will to provide improved services for disabled people

• Support from corporate centre driven by desire for improved services for all on out-of-work benefits, role of W2W in regeneration, savings to public purse, desire for devolved powers

• Kent Agreement pushing for more joined-up processes, LPSA programmes demanding partnership approaches

What outcomes have we seen?

• Collaborative working between SIP and KSE on Pathways to Work

• Better outcomes for more service users• Evolution of a cross-directorate employability

strategy• Better public consultation practices• Improved responsiveness to Govt consultations• Pushing worklessness to the top of the political

agenda in Kent

What outcomes have we seen?

• Less duplication of effort around this issue from various parts of the authority

• Less silo working• Positive outcomes for our partners (e.g. KA2

targets on mental health)• Increased partnership working outside of KCC

– e.g. Local Employment Partnerships• More people with a better understanding of

their role in the greater agenda

What risks and failures have we seen?

• Risk of denuding power and coming across preciousness around people’s roles & responsibilities

• Engaging the right people, and encouraging engagement

• Governance issues – who takes ownership?• Lack of clear “home” for the agenda• Risk of political meddling, but also a benefit!

Benefits of collaborative working

• More flexible work practices• Recognising and sharing of expertise• Better VFM and improved outcomes for

service users• Builds consensus around the agenda• Allows us to push for change at national level• Brings about innovation in new programme

development

Thank you for listening

Kathy Melling, Group Manager, Supporting Employment 01474 544253 kathryn.melling@kent.gov.uk

Nick Moon, Supporting Independence Programme 01622 696932 nick.moon@kent.gov.uk

Click to Kent at: www.kent.gov.uk