Leicester City Council Scrutiny Review Employment, Skills and Training Scoping document for completion by Members September 2014 1
Background to scrutiny reviews Determining the right topics for scrutiny reviews is the first step in making sure scrutiny provides benefits to the Council and the community. This scoping template will assist in planning the review by defining the purpose, methodology and resources needed. It should be completed by the Member proposing the review, in liaison with the lead Director and the Scrutiny Manager. Scrutiny Officers can provide support and assistance with this. In order to be effective, every scrutiny review must be properly project managed to ensure it achieves its aims and delivers measurable outcomes. To achieve this, it is essential that the scope of the review is well defined at the outset. This way the review is less likely to get side-tracked or become overambitious in what it hopes to tackle. The Commission s objectives should, therefore, be as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time-bound) as possible. The scoping document is also a good tool for communicating what the review is about, who is involved and how it will be undertaken to all partners and interested stakeholders. The form also includes a section on public and media interest in the review which should be completed in conjunction with the Council s Communications Team. This will allow the Commission to be properly prepared for any media interest and to plan the release of any press statements. Scrutiny reviews will be supported by a Scrutiny Officer. Evaluation Reviewing changes that have been made as a result of a scrutiny review is the most common way of assessing the effectiveness. Any scrutiny review should consider whether an on-going monitoring role for the Commission is appropriate in relation to the topic under review. For further information please contact the Scrutiny Team on 0116 4546340 2
To be completed by the Member proposing the review 1. Title of the proposed Employment, Skills and Training scrutiny review 2. Proposed by Councillor Sue Waddington Chair, Economic Development, Transport and Tourism Scrutiny Commission 3. Rationale The scrutiny commission has previously conducted a Why do you want to undertake review into employment issues within the city, which this review? highlighted some areas that require improvement. Following this it is timely to see how that has progressed as well as related to more current factors such as the effectiveness of the Economic Action Plan. With a greater national focus on upskilling and bringing people into employment, commission members feel it is important to understand the local picture and how we are addressing these issues. Recent events such as the removal of Multi Access Centres (MACs), the publication of LLEP s Strategic Economic Plan, successfully securing City Deal funding and the securing of EU Structural Investment Funding are also timely reasons to consider the local impact. 4. Purpose and aims of the review What question(s) do you want to answer and what do you want to achieve? (Outcomes?) The commission wishes to get an understanding of the current initiatives in the city and how these will generate getting more people into employment by enhancing their skills and providing training. It is hoped the following outcomes will be established: Progress to recommendations of the scrutiny review into job creation in 2012 Information and data made available on what is currently the situation in terms of unemployment and training across the city and gaps in provision. Information and data on the transition of Leicester young people from school, college and university to employment and the match between their skills, qualifications and experience to that required by employers. An understanding of how the hard to reach are engaged, particularly those where English isn t their first language. Information on where there is growth in the economy and employment skills gaps and how we are promoting this. An understating of the impact of removing MACs Details received on how we will use funding that we secured 3
5. Links with corporate aims / priorities How does the review link to corporate aims and priorities? http://citymayor.leicester.gov.u k/delivery-plan-2014-15/ 6. Scope Set out what is included in the scope of the review and what is not. For example which services it does and does not cover. 7. Methodology Describe the methods you will use to undertake the review. How will you undertake the review, what evidence will need to be gathered from members, officers and key stakeholders, including partners and external organisations and experts? Witnesses Set out who you want to gather evidence from and how you will plan to do this 4 a) A place to do business, b) The City Mayors Economic Action Plan c) Our Children and Young People These are key corporate priorities in the City Mayor s 2014-2015 Delivery Plan that are of relevance to this review. The latter looks at both school educational achievement and the training and development of young people after school. Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) Adult Skills and Learning Services Economic Regeneration The commission will want to consider the following: What is the progress made to recommendation of the scrutiny review into job creation in 2012? Officer report What are the current levels of unemployment? How many people have been put into employment through skills training? Where is the current economic growth, job opportunities and skills shortages? Statistical data and analysis Information from officers Information from local providers How are we supporting people back into employment following the removal of MACs What is the current provision in the city? Details of provision such as job clubs from the Adult Skills and Learning Service How are we engaging the hard to reach? What are the particular issues around young people trying to enter the labour market? How will we use the funding that has been secured? European funding City Deal LLEP Strategic Economic Plan Who will we target through the funds When will the funds be deployed What services will we commission? The commission will assess the above points by taking evidence from officers and stakeholders and considering other practice. City Mayor Relevant Council Officers Chair of LLEP Board Possibly other local providers University of Leicester Lifelong Learning Department Leicester College Apprenticeship Team
8. Timescales How long is the review expected to take to complete? September An initial task group meeting on 11 th September to brainstorm and consider what the review looks at. Proposed start date September 2014 Proposed completion date January 2015 October Scoping document to be agreed at 1 st October meeting. First Task Group meeting 29 th October to consider a report on progress to recommendations made from the previous scrutiny review. November Task Groups/visits to gather further evidence December Final Task group to agree recommendations/findings of the review January Final review report to go to the 14 th January meeting. 9. Resources / staffing requirements Scrutiny reviews are facilitated by Scrutiny Officers and it is important to estimate the amount of their time, in weeks, that will be required in order to manage the review Project Plan effectively. Do you anticipate any further resources will be required e.g. site visits or independent technical advice? If so, please provide details. 10. Review recommendations and findings 11. Likely publicity arising from the review 12. Publicising the review and its findings and recommendations How will these be published / advertised? 13. How will this review add value to policy development or service improvement? It is expected the Scrutiny Officer will support the whole review process by capturing information at the meetings, inviting people to give evidence and writing the initial draft of the report based on the findings from the review. Therefore, this will be 3 months during the review and some work before it starts to get background information. None anticipated It is likely the review will offer recommendations to the Executive. There may be media interest in plans to get people into employment so there should be an expectation that there may be some publicity arising from the review. There will be a review report which will be published as part of the commission s papers. Will offer options for how to disperse the EU funds and where resources should be targeted. 5
To be completed by the Divisional Lead Director 14. Divisional Comments Scrutiny s role is to influence others to take action and it is important that Scrutiny Commissions seek and understand the views of the Divisional Director. 15. Are there any potential risks to undertaking this scrutiny review? E.g. are there any similar reviews being undertaken, on-going work or changes in policy which would supersede the need for this review? 16. Are you able to assist with the proposed review? If not please explain why. In terms of agreement / supporting documentation / resource availability? Name Following the initial task group meeting on 11 th September it was clear that this review will need to focus on key issues where there is potential to influence the delivery of skills and employment support delivered both by the City Council and the LLEP. The task group meeting on 29 th October will provide an opportunity to review progress to date and target the review at key activities where there are likely to be policy and funding decisions upcoming, particularly relating to European funding. Risks could include lack of focus on key issues leading to delay in the review programme. This can be addressed by refining the focus of the review at the next task group meeting on 26 th October Yes staff from my Economic Regeneration Service and the LLEP team will be available to support. Andrew Smith Role Director Planning Transportation and Economic Development Date 18 th September 2014 To be completed by the Scrutiny Support Manager 17. Will the proposed scrutiny review / timescales negatively impact on other work within the Scrutiny Team? (Conflicts with other work commitments) Do you have available staffing resources to facilitate this scrutiny review? If not, please provide details. Name It is not anticipated that the review will negatively impact on any other work within the team. It is a period of many reviews across all the scrutiny commissions and whilst this may delay timescales for final reports. It is expected the review can be fully supported by the Scrutiny Officer. Kalvaran Sandhu (Acting Scrutiny Support Manager) Date 18 th September 2014 6