Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Redditch Borough Council

Contact: Emma James & Jo Weston  Overview and Scrutiny Officers

Items
No. Item

7.

Apologies and Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, and explained that the Panel was keen to hold meetings around the county, with this meeting taking place at Redditch Borough Council – the next meeting would take place at Malvern Hills District Council.

 

Apologies were received from Councillors Martin Allen, Karen Hanks and Richard Udall.

8.

Declarations of Interest and of any Party Whip

Minutes:

None.

9.

Public Participation

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 5 October 2022).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below

 

Minutes:

None.

10.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Panel’s first meeting on 29 July 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

11.

Performance and 2022/23 In-Year Budget Monitoring pdf icon PDF 86 KB

(Indicative timing: 10.05am – 10.35am)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel had received information for performance and budget monitoring.

 

Performance Information for Quarter 1 (April to June 2022) -  the Management Information Analyst for performance relating to the Environment and Infrastructure (E&I) Directorate referred to the dashboard in the Agenda. The dashboard now also included additional data about business survival rate tables from the Office for National Statistics datasets and a summary of railway station usage/journey times for the main stations in Worcestershire.

 

Overall, the number of business enterprises had fallen however data was nearly a year out of date with new data available in November. There had been an increase in the number of short-term businesses. In future it was hoped to include some indication of comparison with other areas and the national average.

 

Inclusion of train journey times for all the main stations (not just Worcester) was hindered by factors such as where a passenger needed to change en-route, therefore the Officers were happy to revisit the Panel’s data needs.

 

Discussion points:

 

·         A Panel member commented that Redditch appeared to be underperforming and asked what could be done to improve train services and help drive business forward. The Assistant Director for Economy advised that the picture in Redditch was down to a number of factors, including the challenges experienced by a number of predominant sectors. The problem was not just connectivity and the Council was working with the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) on a number of areas including business start-up, apprenticeships, schools and forward planning.

·         The Assistant Director for Economy, Major Projects & Waste added that plans for Redditch station were one element and the Worcestershire Rail Investment Strategy, currently being consulted on, was an important part of future growth.

·         A Panel Member was keen for more detail to show the quality (not just quantity) of jobs available in sectors such as business administration support and was advised that Chamber of Commerce wage surveys and the Worcestershire Jobs website would provide information on the range and level of jobs.

·         The current jobs market was quite tight, therefore some employers were increasing wages to attract candidates.

·         Panel Members considered whether information on educational attainment would add value and the fact that the range of courses on offer was important in changing the profile of jobs

·         It was agreed that it was important to promote the range of options available to young people leaving school since university was not appropriate for all, and the Officers reassured the Panel that they aimed to achieve this, as well as working with local universities to have the option of promoting Worcestershire for future careers.

·         The Council’s Skills and Investment Group Manager explained that the Team worked with school years 7 – 13 and that 89% of young people had received the appropriate level of support the previous year. However, some connecting work was required to ensure that colleges fed the needs of employers and not just those of students.

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

The Council's Role in Promoting Apprenticeships pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Minutes:

The Skills and Investment Group Manager summarised the main points from the Agenda report.

 

In 2015 the Skills and Investment Team, in partnership with the Worcestershire Training Providers Association, had created a new brand for apprenticeships, aimed at strengthening the message as there had been some confusion amongst the market, as well as to impartially advise young people, parents and employers and support providers.

 

The main challenges to apprenticeships had included the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017 which some employers embraced but others perceived as a tax, the introduction of new standards which smaller companies struggled to cover, and the impact of the Covid pandemic.

 

The number of young people Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEET) post Covid had increased slightly to 454 and was a priority to the Team. 

 

There had been a shift in the focus of apprenticeships around the county, with growth in Public Services and decline in retail and manufacturing - this was now improving, however providers’ ability to recruit tutors was an issue.

 

The Report detailed the work achieved during the year, and more could now be restarted after Covid.

 

The Council’s Learning and Development Manager was also present regarding Worcestershire County Council’s internal apprenticeship programme.

 

The Chairman invited discussion and the following main points were made:

 

·       Numbers of apprenticeship starters for each district area (based on the learner’s home postcode) were 460 in Redditch, 410 in Wyre Forest, 460 in Bromsgrove, 320 in Malvern, 540 in Worcester and 570 in Wychavon.

·       The Officers felt apprenticeship numbers were quite strong however in depth assessment would need more data, since numbers were affected by factors such as programme length, starters, leavers and completers.

·       The Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills pointed out that businesses may use apprenticeships for existing as well as new staff, although using the apprenticeship levy for the sole means of training management staff was not a sustainable approach.

·       In terms of the quality of apprenticeships, a certain threshold had to be reached and organisations had been reported in the past for not meeting this.

·       The Officers pointed out that for many higher-level apprenticeships, lower levels had to be worked through first.

·       Everyone agreed the importance of educating employers in how to go about developing and promoting apprenticeship opportunities, not just working with young people and schools.

·       It was acknowledged that Covid had changed the workforce, and the Chairman pointed out that that many companies would need to train people in new skills, therefore work such as skills fayres with schools were important and also helped to change outdated perceptions about jobs in sectors such as manufacturing.

·       Panel members agreed the importance of succession planning and a creative approach to encourage businesses to inspire young people so that they did not drift from job to job. The Panel Chairman highlighted that there was something for everyone to get involved in, for example he participated in mock interviews with school pupils.

·       Officers worked with school children from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that the next meeting on 30 November would take place at Malvern Hills District Council.

 

The Panel agreed that for meetings arranged at district council offices, to invite the Council Leader, so that they had the opportunity to explain the current economic challenges for their area and what the County Council could do to help.