At the commencement of the meeting, the Chair noted that this was Councillor Raikes’ last Economy Scrutiny Committee meeting before the end of his term as an elected member in May. The Chair wished Councillor Raikes well and thanked him for his work on the committee.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 9 February 2023.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 9 February 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the LTE Group.

The LTE Group supports education, skills and professional development through five key organisations. This paper provides an update from two organisations within the Group: The Manchester College and Novus.

The updates are focused on the Committees area of interest as follows:

1)    An update on The Manchester College’s (TMC) progress, performance and contribution to Manchester’s work and skills outcomes since the last update in 2022.

2)    Specific case studies on the College’s work within the digital sector as requested.

3)    An update from Novus, at the Committee’s request, on the work undertaken by Novus providing learning, skills and opportunity for offenders within prisons in the region and on release.

The committee considered a report of the LTE Group which provided an update on The Manchester College’s progress, performance and contribution to Manchester’s work and skills outcomes since the last update in 2022 and an update from Novus on the work undertaken providing learning, skills and opportunity for offenders within prisons in the region and on release.

Key themes and points within the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background to the LTE Group, The Manchester College and Novus; 

·         The recent reclassification of Further Education and Skills providers;

·         The College’s T-Level Strategy, College Vision 2027 Strategy and transformational estates strategy;

·         Specific case studies on the College’s work within the digital sector as requested;

·         Learner outcomes and performance; 

·         The Novus Works service, which provided qualifying organisations with a free pre-selection, upskilling, placement and integration service and learners with an opportunity to build a better future through employment on release from custody; and

·         Case studies of Novus’ work in resettlement, developing education and working with employers. 

In opening the item, the Chair stated that Councillors Noor, I Robinson, Shilton Godwin and himself had visited The Manchester College’s City campus earlier in the week and wished to place on record their thanks to those who facilitated their visit. 

Key points and themes that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·         The contradiction between the devolution trailblazer scheme for Greater Manchester and the reclassification of FE providers;

·         The impact of reclassification on the Group’s ability to finance capital projects;

·         Suggesting that the committee recommends that the Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure write to the Secretary of State for Education to support the Group’s lobbying efforts; 

·         Highlighting the importance of work experience; 

·         What, if anything, The Manchester College would change about T-Levels;

·         How The Manchester College was preparing for future changes in ways of working, such as increased need for green and digital skills and biodiversity work; 

·         If FE policy instability and unpredictability had impacted the College’s ability to build relationships with partners and employers;

·         What prevented more educational and employment help being available to those in custody; 

·         The diversity of employers engaged with Novus;

·         How Novus highlighted the positive contributions of their work;

·         Clarifying whether the 17% of learners who secured employment after leaving custody had received a qualification whilst in custody or if this was a general figure; and

·         Reoffence rates amongst those who secured qualifications and employment upon leaving custody.

The Chief Executive, LTE Group explained that the Group was operating in a significantly different context than at its last update to the committee in 2022 following the reclassification of Further Education (FE) providers into the public sector. He explained that there were challenges in the implementation of this, such as being unable to use normal banking arrangements and loans which had been key to the operation of the LTE Group. He stated that work was ongoing between the Group, the Council, Members of Parliament (MPs) and senior officials in the Department for Education (DfE) to identify how the previous practice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Report of the Director of Inclusive Economy.

This report provides an overview of the labour market in Manchester, how it has changed particularly in the last 3 years and the current issues and opportunities. It also shows the approaches being used by Manchester City Council in collaboration with partners to meet skill and labour market needs to combat the challenges faced by businesses and residents with the volatile economy and labour market conditions.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Inclusive Economy which provided an overview of the labour market in Manchester, how it had changed in the last 3 years and the current issues and opportunities.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         The approaches being used by Manchester City Council in collaboration with partners to meet skill and labour market needs to combat challenges faced by businesses and residents as a result of the volatile economy and labour market conditions, and the successes of this;

·         The Manchester Employment Partnership’s strategic approach and activity to co-ordinate a response and shape the future labour market;

·         Examples of sector recruitment activity supporting health and social care, construction, digital and hospitality sectors;

·         Examples of area recruitment activity supporting North, Central and South areas of the city; and

·         The businesses supported by the Council’s Work and Skills Team. 

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·         Commending the Work and Skills Team for their work on hosting recruitment and careers events; 

·         Noting that Manchester had the fifth-highest childcare costs in the UK, and how this impacted employment rates;

·         The consequences for women returning to work;

·         How engaged the Council was with the Jobcentre Plus; 

·         Whether employers were improving their offer to attract prospective applicants for vacant roles; 

·         What differences residents and employers might see if there was local control over Jobcentres;

·         Why there had been a low take-up of apprenticeships, and what solutions were available to address this; and 

·         How the Council was consulted on the Local Skills Improvement Plan to ensure it embeds with the Council’s policy priorities. 

The Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure stated that Manchester’s labour market was tight with many sectors reporting skill shortages and unfulfilled vacancies. He commented that Brexit and the Russian invasion of Ukraine had impacted the labour market, and this remained volatile. He noted that professional, scientific and technological services remained the biggest employing sector in Manchester and that unemployment and economic inactivity had risen over the previous three years despite growth in vacancies. He highlighted that the Work and Skills Team led strongly on a partnership approach to connect Manchester residents to employment opportunities and to support businesses to recruit the talent that they require, for example through recruitment fairs and focused support where required.

The Director of Inclusive Economy commented that some sectors had been worse hit by the Covid pandemic and energy crisis. She noted that 1 in 5 vacant Greater Manchester roles were in Manchester city centre and there were now 27% more jobs in the city than in 2015. She highlighted other aspects of the labour market such as job posting statistics; size of businesses; economic inactivity; and challenges in recruitment. She also highlighted the work being undertaken to address these challenges, such as the Work and Skills Strategy that was approved by the Executive in 2022, the work and focus of Jobcentre Plus, different work programmes such as Restart and Kickstart, the Adult Education  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Report of the Director of Inclusive Economy and the Head of MAES.

This report provides information on MAES’ performance in 2021/22 and the skills challenges in the city.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Inclusive Economy and the Head of MAES which outline performance in 2021/22 and the skills challenges in the city. 

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background to MAES;

·         Current and upcoming projects;

·         Key performance indicators and funding in the 2021/22 teaching year; 

·         Enrolment by each curriculum area;

·         Outcomes of a review of the Quality of Education and areas for improvement;

·         The work of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Advice Service; and

·         Priorities for the current academic year. 

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·         Welcoming the use of data in the ESOL provision;

·         What a more stable adult education system might look like; 

·         Noting that 61% of people assessed as requiring an ESOL course were enrolled, and querying whether this figure was satisfactory; 

·         Expressing frustration over funding constraints and the impact this had on the support that MAES could provide; and

·         How the service was addressing changing skillset need.

The Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure introduced the item and explained that MAES was a successful service which delivered core provisions aligned to the skills needs of the city and city region. He commented that MAES aimed to develop an inclusive economy and to ensure that all Manchester residents had access to the skills they required to participate in the economy. He stated that there were significant funding challenges as the adult education budget had not increased since 2006, which impacted on capacity to deliver, but highlighted success in the opening of a new adult educational facility in the Gorton Hub, which he encouraged committee members to visit. 

The Head of MAES reiterated the Executive Member’s comments and explained that the service worked with residents to help them be in a position to enter the job market or undertake further adult education. He commented that MAES aimed to get service users to be economically active by improving their educational prospects. He acknowledged challenges in the service, such as the Covid pandemic which had impacted recruitment, and MAES estate was noted as a significant challenge to being able to provide services. Members were advised that some progress had been made to address this issue, such as reviewing options for the update of Greenheys and Withington Adult Learning Centres. 

In response to the Chair’s query regarding the percentage of people accessing an ESOL course, the Head of MAES explained that there was demand but the service was experiencing a lack of funding and staffing resources to meet this. He stated that the service tried to recruit ESOL tutors with limited success and work was underway to develop and train new tutors to deliver this provision. 

In response to a supplementary question as to the cause of issues in recruiting ESOL tutors, the committee heard that there was a national shortage. The Head of MAES commented that many adult education providers were developing their own tutors to address the shortfall.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Report of the Strategic Director – Growth and Development.

This report provides the committee with an evaluation of the recent public consultation undertaken in areas within Moss Side, Levenshulme, Longsight, Cheetham and Rusholme to establish whether the designation of a Selective Licensing scheme is required in these areas.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided an evaluation of the recent public consultation undertaken in areas within Moss Side, Levenshulme, Longsight, Cheetham and Rusholme to establish whether the designation of a Selective Licensing scheme was required in these areas.

A presentation on the findings of the consultation was also provided at the meeting. 

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background to Selective Licensing; 

·         The rolling programme and previous schemes in Crumpsall, Moss Side, Moston and Old Moat; 

·         The evidence base for the introduction of Selective Licensing;

·         The process and method of the public consultation; 

·         The survey response rate including ward and respondent breakdown;

·         An analysis of survey responses;

·         Formal representations from landlord trade bodies; landlord representations; two petitions; and resident groups;

·         The number of internal and external inspections carried out on properties within the proposed Selective Licensing area, and the actions taken arising from these; and

·         Next steps, including undertaking an additional round of consultation in Cheetham.

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·         Expressing concern that there may have been a campaign to pressure Cheetham residents to respond to the consultation in a particular way, and querying whether there was any evidence of this;

·         How many responses were received in other languages, and how the Council engaged with non-English speakers; and

·         Noting the number of category 1 hazards of excess cold in inspected properties, and placing on record hope that the government would impose higher standards for landlords which could be built into Selective Licensing. 

The Executive Member for Housing and Development stated that the extension of Selective Licensing was a key manifesto pledge for the administration and a motion had been passed at Full Council in February 2022 to deliver further landlord licensing schemes to tackle rogue landlords and improve housing conditions. He commented that there were a number of successful schemes in place across the city and consultation had been undertaken in 8 proposed new scheme areas, of which 5 were proposed to be implemented. He stated that the three schemes in Cheetham which had been paused were still intended to be implemented in the future, but more work needed to be undertaken to fully understand the results of the consultation in that area. 

The Housing Strategy Project Manager explained that there were several different ways of engaging with those residents for whom English was not their first language, including having bilingual staff at drop-in sessions and during the door-knocking stage of the consultation. He acknowledged that there were more ways that this could be achieved and a ‘lessons learnt’ exercise would be undertaken which would address some of the points raised by the committee. 

The Executive Member for Housing and Development conceded with a member’s concern around the number of category 1 hazards in inspected properties and stated that this was also reflected through the consultation responses. He commented that enforcement could currently only be taken against  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

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 provided details of key decisions within the committee’s remit and its work programme.

Decision:

That the report be noted.