To agree to receive on behalf of the Council the Trailblazer grant funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority and agree the design of provision and award grants to deliver the service.

The Strategic Director (Growth and Development) approves that Manchester City Council receives approximately £1,771,400 of grant funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority to deliver an Get Britain Working Economic Inactivity Trailblazer (ETB) and in consultation with the Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure to:

1.       Award of grants to community based organisations upto £200k per organisation totalling upto £1m, following applications to market opportunity.

2.       An investment of upto £150k in Manchester Adult Education Services to increase English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision and MCR Active for a physical activity service.

3.       Award of upto £450k grant to Manchester Foundation Trust to expand the existing WorkWell service to encompass ETB.

4.       Allocate a management fee of £171k for MCC to design, commission, contract management and fund contingencies.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are funding Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to deliver the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer (ETB). GMCA are funding GM Local Authorities to design and deliver the ETB provision. DWP have stipulated delivery takes place between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The DWP and GMCA are finalising criteria and guidance for delivery of the ETB, Manchester’s allocation has been confirmed by GMCA to be approximately £1,771,400. To maximise the impact of the funding and deliver a service for Manchester residents the ETB needs to start as early as possible in the financial year 2025/26 and by 31 June 2025 as per instruction by DWP. 

Delayed delivery could reduce Manchester’s ability to fund eligible expenditure by £147,616 per month of non delivery.

As such the Chair of Resources and Governance Scrutiny has agreed that this decision is urgent and is to be exempt from Call In