Agenda item

To review the progress made in the past 2 years since establishing the Service.

6.1       The Committee received a report summarising the progress which had been made by and the impact of the Westminster Employment Service.  The Committee noted that the Service had been launched in 2017 to support the City for All ambition – Opportunities and Fairness – and with the objective of transforming the lives of vulnerable residents, including long-term unemployment through an effective back-to-work service.

6.2       The Committee discussed how the network of employment coaches had delivered an effective employment service by supporting 1600 residents into employment and that for every £1 invested in the Service via the General Fund, the Service leveraged a further £89.  The Committee noted that a cost benefit analysis showed that the Housing and Employment Learning Project (HELP) had provided public bodies with a net saving of around £450,000, through reduced spending on welfare benefits and temporary accommodation.

6.3       The Committee welcomed the following witnesses who outlined their particular interest in the Westminster Employment Service:

6.4       Roy O’Shaughnessy (Chief Executive, Capital City College Group) commented on how his organisation provided specialist services to help young people and adults gain an education, enter work and develop their career to improve their wellbeing and/or rebuild their lives.  He advised that specialist college courses should be developed specifically in mind for employment and targeted jobs.  He further advised that if colleges tracked their students they would be able to intervene earlier to help them gain meaningful employment.

6.5       Denise Largin and Stravros Chirdaris, (The Camden Society) commented on how the Camden Society generated opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve greater equality and outlined the different approaches they used to employ young people and give them confident to gain employment.  They emphasised the huge difference it would make if all companies committed to employing one person with learning disabilities, as it would improve the person’s life opportunities and well-being and the organisation would gain a loyal employee with a sustainable career.  They further commented on how more apprenticeship schemes needed to be created in organisations. 

6.6       Naki Hondus (Westminster resident) talked about how she had become homeless and ended up in temporary accommodation.  She explained how she had approached the HELP Project after thirteen moves into temporary accommodation, including outside of London.  She advised that with the support from her caseworker she had graduated with a degree in Education and now lived in Westminster with her family and worked as an Area Manager for a childcare company.  She emphasised that without the support of the HELP project, which had given her both support and confidence, she could still be living in temporary accommodation without employment.

6.7       The key themes that emerged from the Committee discussion were:

·       the impact that the Westminster Employment Service was having on residents, including those with the most significant barriers to employment.

·       the importance of maintaining strong partnership working with Westminster Adult Education Service and the NHS and building new partnerships.

·       the importance of maintaining the quality of personalisation offered so this continued to be a key strength of the Service.

·       the need for the Westminster Employment Service to continue to meet local need and transform the lives of residents, including vulnerable residents.

·       the importance of incorporating Social Value Key Performance Indicators into the Council’s contracts and offering the London Living Wage.

·       the possibility of the Service getting involved with young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) during critical transition stages.

·       the creation of apprenticeships/jobs and the need to develop strategies to encourage Westminster residents to take up employment within Westminster.

·       the importance of communicating to residents the work opportunities within the Council and the work carried out by the Westminster Employment Service.

·       the possibility of monitoring and tracking the progress of people that the Service had helped and the future funding of the Service.

6.8       The Committee congratulated the Westminster Employment Service on winning the Westminster Staff Team Award of the Year.

6.9       The Chairman thanked everyone who had given up their time to attend the meeting and contribute to the discussion.

6.10     RESOLVED: The Committee concluded with the following comments, which will be forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Skills:

1.     That the Westminster Employment Service continued to reach out to all businesses in Westminster to encourage them to commit to employing a young person with SEN to improve equality within the City in line with City for All priorities.

2.     That the quality of personalisation should continue as this enhanced the success of securing and matching the correct employment to the person.

3.     That the Council communicated to its residents, especially young people, the work opportunities within the Council of Apprenticeships, the Graduate Intern Programme and the work carried out by the Westminster Employment Service.

4.     That the Westminster Employment Service set aside 5-10% of its budget to evaluate the Service and that the full Service evaluation be reviewed by the Committee in 2020.