Local Get Britain Working Plans – what are they and what do areas need to do?

John Copps digests the government’s new guidance on Local Get Britain Working Plans.

‘Get Britain Working’ is the government’s clarion call for tackling unemployment – and a range of underlying issues in the labour market around ill-health, skills and the quality of work.

Back in November, the Get Britain Working White Paper set a target of having 80% of people in work. A series of commitments were attached to the White Paper – 16 Trailblazers, three NHS accelerators, and a national supported employment scheme Connect to Work. It also promised funding for areas to develop their own 'local' Get Britain Working plans.

Yesterday DWP made good on the latter promise and published more detailed guidance on what it expects from local areas’ plans and when. We've looked at the guidance and here’s what you need to know.

Every area must produce a local Get Britain Working plan

Each Combined Authority area (where they exist) or group of local authorities (where they don’t) must produce its own ‘Get [insert place name] Working Plan’.

Plans must address the challenges related to labour force participation and progression in work, setting out a ten-year ambition for the area. Where feasible, the DWP asks areas to publish their plans by July this year.

Plans must be ‘whole system’

Local areas must take a system-wide view of employment and labour market issues. This means drawing in partners across regional and local government, the NHS, Job Centres and local employers.

The guidance says that plans must contain a ‘unified understanding’ of local priorities and show how areas will develop a local plan of action to manage and align current provision and make decisions on future commissioning, activity and support. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the NHS, recognising challenge of health related economic inactivity.

In its appeal to be ‘whole system’, the DWP recognises the complex influences on labour market participation include education, skills and health, as well as transport, housing and individuals’ caring responsibilities. 

Getting local governance right

Each plan must be overseen by a partnership of key local stakeholders and receive their endorsement. This must include local authorities in the area, a lead from the Integrated Care Board and Jobcentre Plus, and representation from the third sector, education and skills providers, and employer groups.

When setting out their governance, it will be crucial for areas to be crystal clear about who needs to be involved and how decisions will be made.

Plans will reflect the maturity of different areas

The DWP guidance recognises that local areas have very different starting points. It acknowledges the ‘full scope of ambition may not be possible in all areas’. Where this is the case, local areas are asked to prioritise addressing economic inactivity, with a view to expanding the scope of the plan over time.

This note of realism also informs the guidance on timescales. Where areas are unable to meet the July deadline, they can submit initial summary of their proposals. As a minimum though, all areas are expected to have initial plans covering inactivity published by September. 

Plans should be data driven

Local plans must contain a thorough analysis of the drivers of economic inactivity within the area and show how decisions about resources are evidence-based. Data analysis should include employment trends across local industries, analysis of the groups of people that are most disadvantaged, and the impact on the local economy and services.

DWP has also published a set of Get Britain Working outcomes – which include health-related economic inactivity rate and young people not in education, employment or training – that it will use as an indicator of success. None of these are a surprise but set useful parameters for monitoring impact.

Plans must fit with existing strategies

The Get Britain Working agenda spans public services and it is a lynchpin of the government’s first mission to ‘kickstart economic growth’. Local plans must be integrated with existing strategies, including Local Skills Improvement Plans, ICB’s health, work and skills integration plans, and Connect to Work delivery plans. A successful plan will bring these existing strategies together to be more than the sum of their parts.

The new DWP guidance fires the starting gun for local areas’ contribution to getting Britain working. Some areas have already made significant progress with their involvement in WorkWell or setting up Trailblazers, whilst other are just starting out on their journey.

The government has set out a bold agenda – but relies on local delivery to make it happen. Getting Local Get Britain Working plans right will be key to that.

Watch this space for more on Local Get Britain Working plans!

For more on MV’s work on employment, health and work click here.

To talk to us about work, health and skills contact john@mutualventures.co.uk.