WELFARE TO WORK SCOTLAND 2012

Integrating Employment and Skills Services

Jim RaffertyChief ExecutiveCapital City Partnership1-3 Canon StreetEdinburgh EH3 5HE

E-mail: jimrafferty@capitalcitypartnership.org Tel: 0131 270 6037Mobile: 07971826787

Context

• W2W Scotland 2011 - discussion• Heavy focus on welfare reform – but not on W2W• Stakeholder process - informal• Issues and principles• Fragmentation of sector• Information issues, particularly on outcomes

Working Scotland – Context and Subtext

Subtext

• Where and how decisions are made• Determines which decisions are made• Integration important but so is devolution• 80% - 20% split• There is no local strategy really – we’re just making the best of what is delivered to us

Working Scotland – Context and Subtext

Why We Need Local Jobs Strategies

Why We Need Local Jobs Strategies

Courtesy of Ingeus

Basic principles

• Service improvement• Better value for money• Achieves integration• Incentivises performance improvement• Implementable

Stakeholder process – Questions

Starting Point

• Reflecting Christie• “Fragmentation and complexity”• “Operational duplication rife”• “Divided responsibilities and policy disconnects”• “Inbuilt resistance to change”

Stakeholder process – Questions

Specifics

• Opportunities for operational integration• Employment AND Skills• Direct delivery and contracted provision• The ‘right’ geography• Economics or welfare?

Stakeholder process – Questions

•The Scottish Government should aspire to the establishment of a single ‘Working Scotland’ framework, incorporating both vocational skills and employment support, within one Government department, and that

 •The development of skills and employment policy, the funding of services and consideration of how all of these services are delivered should all be brought together within this remit

Recommendations - Policy

• An integrated National Client Advisor Service covering all ages

• An integrated set of contracted out services

• The establishment of a single performance framework for all employment services whether delivered at national, regional or local authority level

• The development and implementation of an integrated national management information service to enable the performance management task

• A delivery framework for all services which is national in policy terms, regional in respect of labour market planning and funding but with clear devolution to local authority level in respect of management of advisor delivered and contracted services

• The integration of FE college resources into this framework, recognising that this would be at the planning and policy level initially and that much work would be required to integrate the actual service delivery with other strands at local level

Recommendations - practice

• Are there any?

• Traction?

• Formal process required

• But which? And how? And where?

• Your thoughts?

Next steps?