Employment and Skills Multi Area Agreement
The City Region Board members signalled their commitment to secure new powers and freedoms from Government to help in the battle to combat worklessness, and raise skills levels, by signing off a draft Multi Area Agreement (MAA) on 28th January.
The draft MAA is to form the basis for robust negotiations with the Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; and Communities and Local Government. The successful conclusion of these discussions would see the City Region progressively take over responsibility for directing mainstream Government spending across a range of employment and skills programmes.
The main outcome of the MAA is to increase the numbers of people in sustainable employment with training. Success in achieving this outcome will be measured through a number of indicators – the reduction in overall benefit claimants and those in priority neighbourhoods, increase in employment rate, NVQ Level 2, and NVQ Level 3.
Central to the implementation of the MAA will be spatial flexibility for delivery to enable local partners to target interventions. To do this, the ‘asks’ from Government will flow from two key new powers:
1. Joint commissioning with the Department for Work and Pensions for employment programmes leading to their progressive delegation to the City Region
2. Devolution to the City Region of statutory powers to agree and implement the adult skills strategy and budget, known as Section 4 powers; currently only existing in London
This would see the City Region introduce;
- A single set of targets built from Local Area Agreements supported by a single performance management (including operational data sharing) and commissioning framework for all City Region partners and government departments and agencies
- Alignment of appropriate funding streams (including reinvestment of efficiency savings and benefit rebate transfer [if secured])
- Removal of inflexible eligibility criteria to ensure programmes and funding address individual, employer and changed economic needs
The MAA is scheduled to be agreed by the City Region and Government in early April.
The full draft MAA document can be accessed via the City Region website
