ELMAG Programme

Localism in Action

Section 4

Case Studies

Final Report

Contents

1.Greater Manchester Combined Authority

2.Sheffield City Region

3.Cornwall Council

4.London - West

Commissioned and funded by the Education and Training Foundation

  1. Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Section 1 - Information about the Combined Area

•Name of Combined Authority (CA) or Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area: Greater Manchester Combined Authority

•Name and contact details of the person completing the case study:

Julie Rushton, Head of Manchester Adult Education Service.

•Local Authorities comprising the Combined Authority (CA):

Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan

•Brief description of the Combined Authority (CA):

500 square miles, population, £2.7million, economy. £56bn GVA

Section 2

Background to the devolution journey so far

The tenGM councils have worked together voluntarily for many years on issues that affect everyone, like transport, regeneration, and attracting investment. In 2011 this relationship was made official with the formation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) which has powers and responsibilities set out in law. It is run jointly by the leaders of the 10 councils and an 'interim' mayor. It will be given additional powers and responsibilities in 2017 following the election of a mayor. It has its own budget and employs staff directly to achieve its objectives. It gives more local control over issues that affect people who live in the area and allows the region to make a strong case for resources and investment.

GMCA agreed an overall vision for the Work and skills system early in 2015 which has now been developed by the GM Skills and Employment partnership (SEP) into ten priorities for action between 2016 and 2019. The SEP is a voluntary collaboration of employers, colleges, training providers, GMCVO and local authorities. It is accountable to the LEP and GMCA and works with partners and stakeholders to understand and respond to present and future growth and employment and skills needs with an intelligence driven approach at its heart.

Which government ‘asks’ / services have been devolved to the CA?

The region's new powers include:

•Enhanced control of local transport, with a long-term government budget to help plan a more modern, better-connected network

•New planning powers to encourage regeneration and development

•A new £300m fund for housing: enough for15, 000 new homes.

•Additional funding to get up to 50,000 people back into work

•Incentives to skills-providers to develop more work-related training

•Extra budget to support and develop local businesses

•Control of investment through a new 'earn back' funding arrangement

Section 3 - What makes a successful skills partnership?

From your experience so far, what are the key strategies and qualities required to establish a successful skills partnership?

•The GM Stronger Together strategy and its Growth and Reform plan provides the key foundation and driver from which work and skills priorities are derived.

•Wide representation and engagement of influential stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors ensures that contributions provide both support and challenge in a constructive way.

How do you go about determining and agreeing priorities e.g. outcome agreements, across the partnership?

•New Economy which provides the policy, planning and research input to the LEP and Combined Authority also services the Skills and Employment Partnership and Executive which provides the governance structure and link to CA. The executive is chaired by the Chief Executive of Trafford MBC who has lead responsibility for skills across the GMCA.

•Specifically with regard to developing outcome agreements and the impact of devolution of the now Adult education budget, a task and finish sub group was set up involving FE Colleges and private providers, Local Authorities and the SFA. This will ensure that outcomes are developed in partnership and recognise outcomes which are broader than qualifications and jobs.

•Strong emphasis on data analysis and an evidence base for decision making.

How do you monitor the effectiveness of the partnership?

•GM SEP is accountable to the GMCA and GM LEP and also reports to the organisations represented on it.

•A “performance impact panel” leads on the scrutiny and implementation of the reforms and the priorities.

•Regular communication events for stakeholders in addition to public reports and minutes on the GMCA website.

How do you build up the data set across the partnership that will be needed in the future to monitor ‘outcome agreements’?

•New Economy has a dedicated team of researchers including specialists in skills and works with key stakeholders such as the larger training providers to analyse the data and make recommendations to the SEP.

•The SFA Data Cube contains supply side EFA and SFA data to enable analysis of activity undertaken during an academic year. This is brought together with intelligence from the Greater Manchester Forecasting model which is commissioned by New Economy to enable the partnership to understand whether skills supply is meeting employer demand.

•The provider representative groups continue to work on common frameworks and standard templates with clearly defined and understood metrics to gather and analyse local data.

What are the key learning points from your experience so far? (e.g. successful strategies and techniques adopted to foster partnership relationship building).

  • It is a significant task to take responsibility for mainstream skills budgets. There are major factors beyond the development of priorities and outcomes which need to be considered including capacity to deliver, avoidance of additional bureaucracy and additional evidence and research to validate the proposed outcomes and will underpin the measurement of success
  • In GM we also do not see the devolution of AEB in isolation from the rest of the skills and employment system and the outcome framework we are developing relates to the development of skills at all levels from the inclusion agenda through to higher skills in specific priority sectors.
  • Individual local authority Work and Skills Boards or equivalents have been able to share learning from local initiatives to inform the design of GM Devolution services.
  • Secondment of local authority and other staff into the GM Team has met an immediate need for more capacity to design and oversee new programmes.
  • Clear communications with a range of stakeholder have been critical to ensure ‘buy in’.

Section 4 - Next steps

Progress is underway on several areas of the devolution agreement outlined in the first section:

•The Working Well expansion service starts March 2016 as does the linked Skills for Employment service.

•Mental health provision: Talking therapies provision which also forms part of the Working Well ‘ecosystem’ has been commissioned

•Adult Skills Budget ‘other’ funding and outcome models being developed linked to wider Outcome Framework for GM

•Further Devolution asks have been put forward around the wider system to address the limitations of partial skills funding devolution.

•Work and Health co-commissioning work in development with DWP.

•The first phase of devolved GM AGE grant has been delivered and will be extended into 2016/17

Key aims and aspirations for the future

•Further analysis of post-19 provision to ensure it meets the needs of the GM Economy.

•Work with DfE and BIS to explore how delivery of their respective responsibilities can contribute to aligning outcomes from 16-18 vocational education and commissioning of 19+ skills provision.

•Explore how the Advanced Learner Loans system can best support more residents to Level 3+

•Maximise the opportunities presented by the introduction of the apprenticeship reforms (including the levy) through working with employers to recognise the value of apprenticeships in driving productivity.

•Devolution of decision making around Apprenticeship/Traineeship funding across GM.

•Continue to increase influence over the commissioning process, from strategy to service design, managing provider relationships and reviewing service provision.

•Devolve the facilities for FE loans to GM

•Speed up release of Datacube data to enable better responsiveness and improved curriculum planning.

•The appointment of a GM Schools Commissioner to strategically align all 11-19 provisions to ensure better outcomes for young people.

•Create a GM JCP district with DWP provision commissioned and delivered within a GM contract package area.

Priority action points for the next 12 months.

  • Resourcing plan for GM Employment and Skills Team to be agreed, to include secondments from local and GM organisations with specialist skills and knowledge.

•Clear accountability and governance in arrangements with FE Commissioner within GM.

•Agree a framework for performance & information sharing.

•Training and development needs are identified by key staff to ensure capacity are in place to plan, manage and deliver a fully devolved skills strategy

•Greater Manchester to determine eligibility and outcomes for mental health programmes

Section 5 - Summary/’Top Tips’ – How best to:

Set up a localism partnership, including relationship building

•Don’t wait for your devolution deal or area review - start to collect and share data local and intelligence on what our sector delivers, to who ,with what outcomes( eg Community Learning plan)

•Make sure you know what structures are in place and find a way to ensure our sector is round the table /has a voice/champion -if you haven’t got a provider group, set one up)

•Promote our sector track record and have confidence in what our sector delivers and achieves for local people

•Be prepared to give something up

•Have the courage to say what you think, to challenge, be challenged and to think the unthinkable about what we deliver.

•Ask questions to explore and understand others’ perspectives and build empathy.

•Share information in advance of meetings so that the time spent in meetings is used efficiently to question, improve understanding and generate solutions rather than impart information.

Determine and agree priorities

•Don’t make any assumptions that outcomes other than qualifications and jobs will be valued/understood

•Base decisions on data analysis and needs analysis to ensure alignment to employer and community needs.

•Produce a draft set of priorities specific to our sector that can be shared with partners for comment and refinement following discussion and agreement.

Build up a data set

•Establish a common framework with a clearly defined and understood set of metrics.

•Use a standard template to collect data that isn’t already available.

Monitor the effectiveness of the partnership

•Establish a governing board that will scrutinise reports on activity and progress on agreed objectives and targets.

•Agree a communications plan for stakeholders

  1. Sheffield City Region

Section 1 - Information about the Combined Area

  • Name of Combined Authority (CA) area: Sheffield City Region (SCR)
  • Name and contact details of the person completing the case study: Sheila Brown.
  • The SCR Combined Authority is comprised of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Local Authorities (constituent councils) with the 5 second tier SCR LAs (Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield (Borough Council), North East Derbyshire and Derbyshire Dales District Councils) currently classed as ‘non-constituent Councils’. The nine LAs together make up the Sheffield City Region (SCR) LEP area.
  • In order for the proposed devolution deal to be fully ratified all the local councils involved need to approve the deal and the creation of a mayor for the City Region. As part of this a programme of consultation and engagement is currently underway across much of the City Region.

Brief description of the Combined Authority (CA)

Section 2

Background to the devolution journey so far:

In summary, the Sheffield City Region Deal will:

Create a demand-led skills system which provides employers with a workforce able to meet their growth aspirations, and which secures significant new investment and engagement from employers in return.

Strengthen SCR’s self-reliance with the Sheffield City Region Investment Framework (SCRIF) providing flexible financial tools to invest in growth, develop infrastructure, create jobs and stimulate inward investment.

Transform the commercial city centre with a £32.8m New Development Deal enabling the city to borrow against projected business rates in order to invest in infrastructure now.

Establish certainty on transport funding for 10 years enabling SCR and the LEP to invest confidently in local connectivity priorities, not least ensuring reliable access to the new HS2 station. This will encompass accelerated implementation of essential projects such as tram-trains.

Increase the efficiency of the SCR bus network through devolving funding and commissioning for buses and introducing smart-ticketing

Develop a national centre for procurement based around SCR’s Advanced Manufacturing and Nuclear Research Centres. This will speed up communication of demand for complex manufacturing products to innovators in the advanced manufacturing and nuclear industries.

Which government ‘asks’ / services have been devolved to the CA?

  • As currently constituted the CA has responsibility for strategic economic development and regeneration decisions and some functions across the whole SCR area and for transport decisions and functions in the South Yorkshire full CA member areas.
  • Under the proposed SCR devolution deal, the CA/LEP would assume responsibility for a range of new powers/functions including:
  • devolution of 19+ adult skills funding (pages 8 – 10 of the Devolution Deal document)
  • area based review of FE and sixth form college provision (16 – 18) and subsequent production of local outcome agreements and a local skills strategy
  • collaboration with central government over the design and provision of careers and enterprise provision
  • co-design of employment support programmes
  • business support programmes
  • investment in economic growth including innovation and trade and investment activities
  • strategic planning powers
  • Full details can be found in the SCR Combined Authority Constitution and Devolution Deal documents above.

Section 3 - What makes a successful skills partnership?

From your experience so far, what are the key strategies and qualities required to establish a successful skills partnership?partners with relevant skills & knowledgepartners with relevant skills & knowledge

  • partners with relevant skills & knowledgeEnsuring you have identified the key leaders with an equitable spread of partners with relevant skills & knowledgeEnsuring you have identified the key leaders with an equitable spread of partners with relevant skills & knowledge Ensuring you have identified the key leaders with an equitable spread of partners with relevant skills & knowledgeEnsure you have identified the key leaders with an equitable spread of partners with relevant skills & knowledge

How do you go about determining and agreeing priorities e.g. outcome agreements, across the partnership?

  • By ensuring that they are fit for purpose for all areas (ACL, Colleges etc.) whilst meeting your LMI, Borough Strategy and the SCR priorities

How do you build up the data set across the partnership that will be needed in the future to monitor ‘outcome agreements’?

  • Share top level data to create a cross CR provision to ensure correct decisions are made. We are just in the process of this and are collating data as a combined authority, working with SFA and BIS, as such it is embryonic at this stage. Each LA has created an infographic for ACL priorities and impact and these will be presented jointly at the 19+ group

How do you monitor the effectiveness of the partnership?

  • By ensuring that they are fit for purpose for all areas (ACL, Colleges etc) whilst meeting your LMI, Borough Strategy and the SCR priorities Regular meetings (sub groups/task and finish working groups), CA sub group meetings

What are the key learning points from your experience so far?

  • Work together to exchange existing models, data re local priorities, offer, impact Information needs to be clear, concise, timely and communicated to key people. You also need to work together with all partners and agencies to have ‘one voice’. You also need to do your own research and be proactive, don’t sit and wait to be approached Information needs to be clear, concise, timely and communicated to key people. Work together with all partners and agencies to create ‘one voice’.

Section 4 - Next steps

Key aims and aspirations for the future:

  • Ensure that the devolved AEB budget is fully understood by the commissioners and the part that ACL provision plays within this and strategy and structures that will best serve delivery. It would be easier for decision makers to relate to if we have something concrete to discuss.

Priority action points for the next 12 months:

  • Create stronger links between the AEB providers and the ESIF decision making structuresI think we would all benefit from training to explore potential commissioning models, alternative delivery models and the capacity for the SCR local authorities to deliver across the whole region as a ‘prime’ contractor.
  • Demonstrate the parameters of ACL, the cohort it serves and the impact is has in relation to skills, employability, community cohesion, social return on investment
  • To have a fit for purpose, innovative and creative framework that supports the skills agenda for the residents of the SCR right from the very beginning (pathway framework encompassing all levels), to have a positive appetite for risk (now’s the time to try new things and be creative)
  • consider existing governance structures and strategic models such as commissioning frameworks including the third sector
  • Consider the benefits of an area-wide Community Learning Trust.
  • Match the LEP priorities with the emerging funding rules for AEB 16/17 to see how these can best fit requirements for delivery and form a curriculum plan that is deliverable and matches outcome requirements
  • It is a priority for us to explore the Funding Rules for AEB 16/17 and establish a potential ‘Curriculum Plan’ for 16/17 using the new funding guidance to give us some idea of what would be deliverable. It would be easier for decision makers to relate to if we have something concrete to discuss. Include Pound Plus and financial models for attracting other moneys alongside infographics
  • To ensure the pace of the SCR agrees priorities, outcomes agreement, delivery agreement, commissioning body structure/purpose and agree a common data set and evidence base of impact (think about priorities and the skill set available to develop a timetable/framework to show the vision for the impact of devolution (pestle))Ensure the pace of the SCR to agree priorities, outcomes agreement, delivery agreement, commissioning body structure/purpose.

DisDiscuss the possibility of an area wideACL review Training and development needs identified by key staff to ensure capacity is in place to plan, manage and deliver a fully devolved skills strategy for your area: