Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies had been received from Edwina Grant OBE, Mark Allanson, Lindsay Campbell and Dean Langton.

It was noted that Cllr Mark Townsend had stepped down as Leader at Burnley Council so would no longer be the skills representative for the Lancashire Local Authority Leaders. The committee wished to place on record thanks to Mark for his work and wished him the best for the future. A new nominee would be requested from the Lancashire Local Authority Leaders.

It was also noted that Katherine O'Connor had changed roles, but that Paul Evans would continue to attend the meeting as the BEIS representative.

Amanda Melton, Bev Robinson and Alison Robinson worked for organisations bidding for the Skills Accelerator funds.

Alison Robinson worked for an organisation leading an SDF bid for TLC, and also had a Community Renewal Fund bid in place with UCLan.

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting held on 03 March 2021 are

confirmed as an accurate record.

None.

Prof StJohn Crean (Chair of LEP Health Sector Group) and Adrian Leather (CEO of Active Lancashire)

Michele Lawty-Jones (Director Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub) introduced the session, reporting that when the LIS was in development, the relationship between health and productivity was recognised through a deep dive into the data, and that this resulted in health being recognised as an enabler within the LEP's Strategic Economic framework, and as a Growth Pillar.  It was noted that Healthy Workforces was also a priority under the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework theme of Skilled and Productive Workforce and that projects focused on supporting an Inclusive Workforce had health integrated.

Professor StJohn Crean (Chair of the LEP Health Sector Group) gave a presentation outlining the work of the LEP Health Sector Group to improve economic prosperity for Lancashire through the lens of health. He outlined Lancashire's productivity in compared to other areas, sickness absence figures and the effect on GVA.

StJohn reported that one aim for the group was to create a Health Productivity Hub, aiming to level Lancashire's health and productivity within 10 years, with a focus on communities, increased productivity and increased business.

Adrian Leather (CEO Active Lancashire) gave a presentation on the Building Blocks ESIF project, outlining the options being developed for workplace health, the consultation with local employers around current support offers, focus areas for the project around inequalities, and a model of partnership delivery.

The committee discussed both presentations and agreed that further updates should be brought back at a future date.

Resolved: that the information be noted, and further updates be brought to the committee at a later date

Michele Lawty-Jones, presented the report (circulated) updating on the work of the Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub and partners. She particularly highlighted the following:

·  The DfE have offered a further grant of £75,000 in 2021/22 as per previous years to help support SAPs local analytical capability and meet SAP requirements.

·  The Careers and Enterprise Company had amended the targets for progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks for the Careers Hub due to the restrictions resulting from the pandemic.  An update on progress was provided, including the provision of virtual encounters and experiences.  A further 5 Enterprise Advisers had also been recruited

·  Another Teen Tech festival was being planned for 2022, based on the success of the first festival which engaged over 850 young people

·  The work of the Post 16 Officers group was referenced and the focus on supporting the transition of young people from school to their Post 16 destination, with improved data sharing to enable providers to support students and improve retention

·  It was noted that G4S had secured the contract for 'Restart' across the Northwest Contract Package, and that discussions were underway to integrate provision across Lancashire, working with the Adult and Employer Skills Forums

·  It was noted that £31.1m of social value had been generated through the Growth Deal programme, as of the end of March 2021

·  The Skills & Employment Hub were working with Wilmott Dixon and L&Q/Trafford Housing Trust to develop an ambitious social value programme for the D'Urton Lane development

·  the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework incorporating the Local Skills Report was re-published at the end of March:

https://www.lancashireskillshub.co.uk/strategies/strategic-framework/. It received positive feedback from the department and was one of the first presented to the Skills and Productivity Board as an example of good practice.

The dashboard approach to providing local Labour Market Intelligence was   referenced and the increased use by partners of the Skills & Employment Hub evidence base pages – thanks were passed to Joseph Mount, Skills   and Economic Intelligence Officer for his work and from the college principals present for the provision of presentations to college staff to support business and curriculum planning

• It was noted that 83 businesses had signed up to the Lancashire Skills Pledge

Resolved: that:

i.  the update be noted

ii.  the committee recommend to the LEP Chair and CEO that the SAP grant be accepted

iii.  social value be added to the agenda for the informal meeting in July

Lisa Moizer, Skills & Employment Hub Coordinator, presented the refreshed Apprenticeship Action Plan 2021-23, produced in collaboration with key partners and consulted on with stakeholders.

A range of funding will be utilised from a range of partners and sources, and a budget of up to £10,000 has been allocated this financial year from the LEP to support the development of the Lancashire Levy Transfer Network.

It was also noted that an application had been put to Lancashire County Council's Lancashire Economic Recovery Grant (LERG) to provide financial incentives to Lancashire businesses to recruit apprentices aged 16-24.

It was suggested that the dashboard could be used to track performance.

Resolved: that the Apprenticeship Action Plan 2021-23 be approved

•  Identification and agreement of any recommendations for consideration/approval by the LEP Board.

•  Identification and agreement of issues for inclusion in the feedback report for the LEP Board.

Resolved: that the following items be raised with the LEP Board:

·  Recommendation that the SAP grant be accepted

·  Recommendation of acceptance of the grant funding offer from CEC for the Lancashire Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network, subject to review of the final grant offer and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer and extension of the contract with Inspira

·  Recommendation of acceptance of grant funding for the CEC research and evaluation projects, should they be successful, subject to review of the grant offers and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer and any related procurement considerations

·  Recommendation of acceptance of the grant funding from the Blackpool Opportunity Area Twinning Funds to enable further joint activity between Blackpool and Lancashire to share good practice, and continue to build the approach with localised employer networks, subject to review of the final grant offer and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer

None.

The next informal meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 21 July 2021, at 8am.

The next formal meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 8 September 2021, at 8am.

The next informal meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 21 July 2021, at

8am.

The next formal meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 8 September 2021, at

8am.

However, as several members were on holiday for the July meeting it was requested that a poll be circulated for the two weeks preceding it to canvas for a more suitable date.

The Committee is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it considers that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as indicated against the heading to the item.

At this point the Skills and Employment Advisory Panel approved that the meeting move into Part II, Private and Confidential, to consider the remaining agenda items as they contained information defined as confidential or exempt in accordance with the relevant paragraph of Part I to schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as set out in each report or presentation. It was considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Michele Lawty-Jones presented the report (circulated) outlining the funding allocated by Department for Education to the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to enable the continuation of the existing Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network, and match from local partners. The paper referenced two competitive opportunities from CEC to bid for funds to undertake test and learn projects – one focused on testing the impact of careers activities on the decision making of young people, and one on supporting effective transitions from Year 10 to Year 12. The outline proposals were described. The paper also included details of further funds from the Blackpool Opportunity Area to enable twinning, and the sharing of good practice across the Lancashire area, building on activity in this academic year. Discussion followed.

Resolved: that the following be recommended to the LEP Board at their next meeting:

i.  Acceptance of the grant funding offer from CEC for the Lancashire Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network, subject to review of the final grant offer and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer and that the associated contract with Inspira is extended

ii.  Acceptance of grant funding for the CEC research and evaluation projects, should they be successful, subject to review of the grant offers and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer and any related procurement considerations

iii.  Acceptance of the grant funding from the Blackpool Opportunity Area Twinning Funds to enable further joint activity between Blackpool and Lancashire to share good practice, and continue to build the approach with localised employer networks, subject to review of the final grant offer and associated terms and conditions by the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer