Transforming job centres from the country’s ‘most unloved public service’ into places where people can receive quality career support is a key ambition for me.
Giving autonomy to local authorities to tackle inactivity is essential to beginning to achieve this, as we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper in November.
Every councillor knows that, in their ward, there will be people who deserve a better chance in life: the family that struggles with childcare, or the kids barely out of school who were hit hard by the pandemic and have never bounced back.
Everyone deserves an opportunity in life, and I am determined that our back-to-work system – our job centres and the support alongside them – will get better.
But these chances are often created by very local factors – for example, how far from the city centre you are, if there is a good bus, train or tram service, local childcare availability, and the affordability of housing near jobs.
You can’t divorce the opportunities people have from the place they come from. That’s why our Get Britain Working White Paper made a promise to localise and personalise the support we give.
So, we are asking all areas in England to develop ‘Local Get Britain Working Plans’ – a strategy for how to tackle economic inactivity locally and integrate locally delivered services.
The plans will be delivered in strategic authorities and local authorities in England, but in partnership with the NHS, employers and the voluntary sector.
I want job centres to be a part of the local infrastructure that helps people move on in life. Working with family hubs, GPs, colleges and employers, we will get support to people and take down the barriers that prevent progress.
Get Britain Working Plans put places at the forefront of how this happens. In some places, there are lots of jobs, but challenges for some people in getting them. In other areas, we need more investment in good jobs and help for those who are overlooked when recruitment happens.
To go further, we have 16 economic inactivity trailblazers on health and young people to try out new approaches.
Investment of £125 million will go towards mayoral strategic authorities putting in place locally joined-up work, health and skills support as a way of accelerating how we help people on the journey into work and those at risk of leaving employment.
There is also funding for areas in England and Wales to design and deliver their own, bespoke employment support. Connect to Work will support disabled people, and those with health conditions and complex barriers to work, to get into and progress in jobs.
For too long, opportunity has been a postcode lottery. People’s chances and opportunities are so heavily dictated by where they live. This has to change. It is a waste of people’s time and talents, and we cannot afford it any more.
All of us need help from time to time. Any of us could become unwell or unable to continue with the career we’ve been in. We need a system where we can all access help to change jobs, to get back into work.
- The Get Britain Working White Paper is available on the Government’s website.