The Chair informed the Committee that a request had been made to appoint Councillor Kirkpatrick to the membership of the District Centres Sub Group.

Decision

The Committee agrees to appoint Councillor Kirkpatrick to the District Centres Sub Group

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2018.

Decision

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2018.

Report of the Strategic Lead – Ageing

This report provides an update on the approaches and work being undertaken to address the priority area of employment in the over 50s. It considers the economic impact of older workers on the city and the challenges they face, within the context of the city’s ageing strategy Manchester: A Great Place to Grow Older 2017-2021.

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The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Lead – Ageing, which provided an update on the approaches and work being undertaken to address the priority area of employment in the over 50s. The report also detailed the economic impact of older workers on the city and the challenges they faced, within the context of the city’s ageing strategy Manchester: A Great Place to Grow Older 2017-2021.

The Head of Work and Skills referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

·                Being in good, well paid, healthy, work and the ability to remain economically active into later life was a strong determinant in older people’s health and wellbeing outcomes;

·                Increasing the rate of economic participation of those aged 50-64 had great

·                economic benefit for the city and city region;

·                Older workers had more difficulty than any other group in returning to work, with analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) showing just 16.2%

·                of people over the age of 50 were supported into a long-term job;

·                The Greater Manchester Ageing Hub had been formed to

·                coordinate a strategic response to the opportunities and challenges of an

·                ageing population;

·                The age-friendly strategy for Manchester was refreshed in October 2017 in response to the major economic and demographic changes, alongside significant changes in the national and regional political context;

·                The Age Friendly Manchester team worked closely with the Work and Skills team to strengthen the city’s focus on older workers, either via existing programmes of work or in the development of new partnerships and initiatives which included, Work Clubs, In the Know Programme, Skills for Employment service, National Careers Service, Employer Engagement.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                There was a massive indictment of austerity on particular sections of Manchester’s society, how was this going to be addressed;

·                There was need in change of behaviour and attitude by employers towards employing older people.  How was this going to promoted;

·                Did officers have any views or comments on the impact of part time jobs;

·                Where there any examples of employers that were working positively to address employment of older workers;

·                What communications had there been with the private sector to encourage the employment of over 50’s;

·                Had any engagement taken place with the Chamber of Commerce to encourage the employment of over 50’s;

·                What work was being done to support Manchester residents over 64 who may still be in employment or wish to work; and

·                Was there a geographical spread of work clubs across the city.

The head of Work and Skills commented that the impact of austerity had had a culminative impact on Manchester residents that had been or were on benefits, with health having a large impact particularly on those over 50.  The Council had set out to become an age friendly city and it was acknowledged that the economic aspect of the strategy required greater prominence.  In terms of attitude and behaviour, getting the message out to employers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

Report of the Director of Population Health and Wellbeing

This report provide an overview of the population health plan for the city, as it pertains to work and health and an overview of how commissioned programmes support residents with long term health conditions access the labour market.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Population Health and Wellbeing, which provided Members with details of the Manchester Population Health Plan with specific reference  to Priority 2 of the Plan, Strengthening the positive impact of work on health.

The Consultant in Public Health referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

·                Work had a major positive impact on health and wellbeing through both economic reward and participation in society;

·                Manchester had a well established work and health programme  which had been endorsed by the health and Wellbeing Board and Work and Skills Board;

·                High rates of health related worklessness had persisted in the city during times of economic growth and gaining employment increased the likeliness of reporting good health and quality of life;

·                31,000 people were claiming sickness related out of work benefits in Manchester,

·                increasing the skills of and employment opportunities for families would contribute to the wider ambition to reduce their social exclusion and health inequalities;

·                A key part of a proactive approach was maximising opportunities to refer residents to health and employment services and connect residents to community assets;

·                Training and support would be required to improve access to jobs in the major employment sectors.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                Why was mental health not a priority area within the Plan as this was one of the main contributors to worklessness;

·                How did social prescribing work in practice;

·                Was there a payment package associated with social prescribing;

·                What work was being done amongst the BAME communities to raise awareness  around the need to look after their health;

·                What work was being done to help those in what could be considered ‘poor’ employment; and

·                Was there any work being done to look at the linkages between employment and alcohol consumption

The Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health advised that mental health was a much larger issue that needed addressing and the priorities within the Plan had been identified based on achievability.  Since 2017 there had been a new Mental Health Trust in place which was responsible for reviewing the services provided as well as the structure.  The trust was aware of the gaps in service especially in the north if the city and was committed to addressing this.

In terms of social prescribing, it was explained that this was based on a premise that 10 to 20% of GP patients  did not have medical related issues and GPs were not equipped with the knowledge to help these patients.  As such social prescribing  allowed GPs to refer patients to link workers within communities which could assist in accessing services and sources of support to help build resilience.

It was reported that there was some significant barriers in accessing employment opportunities within BAME communities and further work was needed with employers to improve these opportunities. 

Officers acknowledged the comments made around ‘poor’ employment and there was a significant number of employers that did not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Report of the Head of Work and Skills

This report provides an update on the performance of the Working Well programme which will include information on:work that was being done with employers, the supply of work opportunities for service users and the views of service users as to how well the service performed.  The report also provides an update on the delivery of the Work & Health programme.

Representatives from The Growth Company will be in attendance as the lead providers of the Working Well programmes in Manchester along with a key worker and client.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Work and Skills, which provided an update on Working Well pilot, an employment support programme delivered across Greater Manchester, its expansion, which was developed to build on the pilot to support a wider range of benefit claimant and the Work and Health programme which would provide support for unemployed people with health conditions or disabled people.

The Head of Work and Skills referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

·                The outcome of the Working Well pilot, which had not performed as had hoped;

·                The aim of the Working Well expansion programme which was open to a wider range of benefit claimants than the pilot and incorporated a more co-ordinated approach between services and an update on its performance;

·                Details of a GP referral route to help those who would be in a position to move into work with some intensive and holistic support;

·                The success to date of talking Therapies which was commissioned separately but as part of the wider Working Well expansion and provided access to Improving

·                Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) for clients with mild to moderate

·                mental health issues;

·                Details on the Skills for Employment programme which aimed to improve skills, motivation and confidence, access work experience opportunities and help find sustainable employment;

·                The integration of other services with the Working Well design; and

·                Employer engagement with the programme.

Some of the key points that arose from the committees discussions were:-

·                How would someone who was homeless or sleeping rough access the programme;

·                Why had the performance of the Growth Company in delivering the Working Well programme not been as successful as anticipated and what was being done to address this;

·                What were the challenges within south Manchester as referenced was made to thus in the report but no details were provided;

·                What assurances could be given that the programme would continue once government funding had stopped;

·                What consideration had been given to supporting older people into employment.

Officers advised that the majority of people that accessed the programme had been referred by their GP’s.  In terms of the performance of the Growth Company it was commented that there was nothing to suggested that the needs of Manchester residents were any more complex than those of other areas.  The Growth Company’s initial target was to get 20,000 people back into work and although this target had not been met, they had tried to encourage providers to work together and share best practice, which often took time.  The Committee was also reminded that although performance had not been as good as anticipated, those that had been referred to the programme had already been through the national programmes without success and the feedback that had been received from working well clients of their experience of the service had been positive and whilst the Working Well programmes had delivered relatively small scale outcomes, the more focused approach for the Health and Work programme and delivery by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

Report of the Head of Strategy and Policy Development – Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

This report seeks the Committees views on a draft proposition for a GM Good Employment Charter in order to help deliver the priorities of ‘good jobs with opportunities for people to progress and develop’ and ‘a thriving and productive economy in all parts of Greater Manchester’

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Strategy and Policy Development, GMCA, which provided Members with details of a proposed GM Good Employment Charter in order to help deliver the priorities of ‘good jobs with opportunities for people to progress and develop’ and ‘a thriving and productive economy in all parts of Greater Manchester as set out in the Greater Manchester strategy(GMS).

The Head of Strategy and Policy Development referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

·                the Charter would have a tiered structure, enabling it to engage a wide range of businesses, public service providers and voluntary and community sector organisations and encourage them to meet higher employment standards by progressing up the tiers, learning from best practice, and thereby improve productivity and service quality;

·                The first tier of the Charter would be for those employers who supported the aims of the Charter and GMS, but were not yet in a position to meet the requirements of accreditation;

·                The next tier of the Charter – membership – would require employers to

·                become accredited, based around a small number of clear standards drawn from the areas raised in the consultation;

·                There were many existing accreditations in these areas, both local and national, so rather than duplicate existing standards, the proposed approach was to combine other accreditations into the GM standard, requiring fewer resources in setting up;

·                Engagement would continue with employers, employees, campaigners and others to develop and refine this proposition and prepare another public consultation document setting out the draft Charter to be published shortly; and

·                Dependent on the outcome of that consultation, a final Charter was expected to be produced by the end of the year.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                Consideration should be given to including the health service and employers in future consultation on the Charter;

·                How would the membership of the proposed Independent Panel, which would be set up to oversee the running of the Charter, be selected;

·                When would the next round of consultation take place;

·                How would the resources needed for the running of the Charter be provided;

·                It was hoped that within the requirements of the Charter there would be inclusion of the issues discussed around employment of the over 50’s population of Manchester.

The Head of Strategy and Policy Development acknowledged the comments made in relation to including the views of the health service and its employees in the next round of consultation and it was reported that they had already been included in the design of the charter to date.  In terms of the membership of the Panel, it was reported that this was still open to further discussion and the resources for the Charter would be discussed in the next round of consultation.

The Leader informed the Committee that the next round of consultation on the proposed Charter would be with the Greater Manchester Mayor, himself and other appropriate members of the GMCA, however, he did  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

The Committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations was submitted for comment. Members were also invited to agree the Committee’s future work programme. 

The Committee requested that the following items which were listed as ‘to be scheduled’ were to be added to the work programme for future meetings:-

·                Affordable Housing for Vulnerable Demographics – 7 November 2018; and

·                LTE Group (formerly Manchester College) Performance update – 6 February 2019

Decision

The Committee:-

(1)       Notes the report; and

(2)       Agrees the work programme subject to the above additions