Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Tomorrow's People (ES 05B)
1.1 This paper is supplementary to submission
ES 05 from Tomorrow's People, and the background statement submitted
7 May 2002. It provides follow-up information to questions raised
during the evidence session held 8 May 2002.
1.2 Information about interventions specifically
for SMEs was requested. Across the country, Tomorrow's People's
work with employers of every size. In London, our Getting London
Working programme helped over 300 people into employment in 2001,
the first year of operation. Of these people, 12 per cent entered
small companies with less than 15 staff, and 30 per cent went
into jobs in medium-sized companies of 15-30 staff. Of the employers
registered with Getting London Working, 17 per cent are small,
employing between 0-10 staff, 36 per cent are medium-sized, employing
11-25 staff and 47 per cent employ more than 25 staff.
1.3 Since September 2001, our Getting Newcastle
Working programme has assisted 44 people into employment, and
32 people into training positions elsewhere. Of these clients,
30 per cent went into companies with fewer than 20 staff, and
66 per cent were placed into companies of over 250 staff. Within
the SMEs, those individuals have sustained their employment on
average for six months. 19 people have found jobs with Northern
Rock, around 50 per cent of whom are third-generation unemployed,
and the majority of these have sustained that employment up to
six months. In South Tyneside, between January and March 2002,
we achieved 13 placements, nearly three times the number of jobs
than the target profile set. Of these people, 56 per cent were
placed into companies with fewer than 50 staff, and 31 per cent
with companies of fewer than 150 staff.
1.4 Within the Plymouth area, 94 per cent
of employers have 1-24 employees (Prosper, 2001). From April 2001
to end March 2002, our Plymouth Workroute programme has helped
706 people, of whom 269 have entered employment, 102 have entered
vocational training, and the remainder are ongoing. On average
over the last 12 months, Plymouth Workroute has achieved job retention
rates of 89 per cent.
1.5 As well helping unemployed people into
jobs, Tomorrow's People work innovatively with employers to find
alternative solutions where few actual job vacancies exist. AstraZeneca,
the national pharmaceuticals company has an environmental laboratory
at Brixham, employing a workforce of 100 people, and is a significant
employer in an area of high unemployment. AstraZeneca is taking
direct action, through providing practical help, and the use of
office accommodation and help with running costs. Between August
1998 and April 2002, AstraZeneca has assisted 437 clients, 244
of whom are now in employment, and 76 have entered vocational
training. Brixham is one of the two locations in the UK where
Tomorrow's People work innovatively with corporate employers.
Whilst AstraZeneca have met the cost of this service the main
beneficiaries have been both unemployed people and SMEs.
1.6 In Merseyside, our Corporate Workroute
initiative, in existence since September 1999, and later developed
into Getting Merseyside Working in September 2001, is based around
a coalition of leading employers in the area. Key partners such
as Littlewoods, Scottish Power and Royal Sun Alliance provide
not only funding but also assistance in kind, through use of office
workspace and facilities. The objective is to engage long-term
unemployed people with SMEs, with Tomorrow's People facilitating
the job matching and employment process for these employers. A
key element of our success has been the offer of a dedicated Employer
Adviser, who acts as an ongoing intermediary, and our involvement
with the Local Business Association Network, whose membership
is comprised of the micro and SME employers. Since launch, 393
people have received our help, and 212 of those entered employment.
89 per cent have sustained that employment over 6 months, and
85 per cent over 12 months. Estimates suggest that 60 per cent
of placements are made into companies of fewer than 250 staff.
1.7 Tomorrow's People provide help to unemployed,
socially excluded and young people, and believe that prevention
is better than cure. This philosophy underpins our drive to help
clients into sustainable employment, because our experience has
shown that the best way to break the cycle of exclusion is by
helping individuals get and retain a job.
1.8 Tomorrow's People continually develop
new strategies and interventions to prevent people from becoming
unemployed, or unemployable, in the first instance. It is our
wish to see a system of self-sustaining employment, without the
need for intervention.
1.9 For young people, managing the transition
from school to work or further education is essential to prevent
them becoming unemployed, as is supporting them through the journey
to fulfilling employment. For others, it is through managing the
transition between jobs, quickly acting to ensure those individuals
find the next opportunity rather than waiting six months before
receiving support from employment services.
1.10 By engaging employers to help those
people facing redundancy at a much earlier stage, it is possible
to prevent workers from becoming disconnected with the labour
market and job opportunities.
1.11 With regard to the bidding for funding,
Tomorrow's People frequently compete both with and against the
public sector. Organisations that are not preferred partners are
often disadvantaged in terms of overhead cost recovery. It is
our recommendation that a level playing field be established,
whereby all organisations operate to the same levels of risk,
and with the same transparent cost structures. Preferred partner
organisations do not have to account for project risks such as
responsibility for employment, cost of redundancies, TUPE, premises
or dilapidations. For instance, Tomorrow's People were unable
to pursue bidding for Employment Zones and other projects because
they were not commercially viable and made no allowance for ongoing
operational costs.
1.12 In addition, despite progress with
the "best value" concept, it is the case that all too
often contracts appear in practice to be awarded solely on cost
without sufficient attention to the quality of performance. We
would suggest that the contracting process should also focus on
public policy outcomes, such as sustained employment and associated
benefits to individuals, their families, the community and local
economy, as well as considering legitimate financial inputs.
1.13 As stated in the evidence session,
the experience of applying for funding is both complex and frustrating,
because the system depends on multiple sources. Better co-ordination
of timing of bids for matched funding would ensure relevant fund
holders operate to the same deadlines. Organisations waste vital
resources on applications that cannot be completed because the
contingent funds from a different budget have already been allocated.
1.14 There are also issues with the timing
of tenders. Organisations are frequently given four weeks in which
to tender. This is an insufficient period to enable quality bids
to be researched, prepared and submitted. Tenders may require
evidence of partnership with the local community, which provides
an unfair advantage to organisations that currently deliver in
an area.
1.15 With regard to the levels of budgets,
we would welcome an approach that provides sustained and adequate
funding, to support and maintain projects beyond the stage of
simply establishing the initiative. Currently, funding is at best
on an annual basis and often varied at much shorter notice because
of changing short-term priorities. It is important to be able
to plan further ahead than 12 months, if organisations are to
invest in people, systems, premises and other resources. Currently,
the short-term nature of funding conflicts with the longer-term
aims of delivering meaningful outcomes, and in turn this inhibits
providers from bidding for contracts.
1.16 Tomorrow's People would recommend greater
harmonisation and simplification of the application process. In
particular, we note that when applying for regeneration funding
applicants often have to supply identical background information
about their organisation every time they bid for funds, plus frequently
having to supply identical accounting data as well.
1.17 Tomorrow's People would suggest that
organisations are able to lodge such background information with
a central Governmental body, or indeed in escrow, so that it may
be referred to when bids are examined. This would substantially
reduce the administration by the applicant and would enable organisations
to focus on the specific issues associated with any bid.
1.18 In summary, Tomorrow's People welcome
the opportunity to expand on the issues raised by the Committee,
and believe that there is much scope to implement positive changes.
Identifying ways to prevent people who are either leaving school
or their job from falling away from the labour market is critical
to breaking the cycle of unemployment and social exclusion. Establishing
a level playing field, with greater transparency in the bidding
process, and a more balanced approach to risk in commissioning
projects would also be welcomed. Creating more accessible routes
to funding and sensible co-ordination of different funds would
enable faster transition of funds to actual project delivery,
where it is most needed.
Debbie Scott
Trust Director
21 May 2002
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