This presentation outlines what Leicestershire County Council intends to do to tackle the issue of worklessness in the county.

1. Leicestershire County Council Approach To
Worklessness
Heather Bell
Policy & Partnerships Manager

2. LCC Economic Growth Priorities complement and
support the LLEP’s Economic Growth Plan:
• Worklessness
• Employment Land & Buildings
• Sector Priorities e.g. Distribution & Logistics
• Capital Availability
• Enterprise Growth

3. Why worklessness:
• Improving quality of people’s lives
• One in 10 people in the County claiming benefits and one in
5 in the City, highest proportion on ESA and incapacity
benefits.
• Ensuring that Leicestershire has a suitably skilled workforce
• A 20% increase in worklessness would cost an additional
£13 million a year
• Our 3,300 troubled families and families with complex needs
cost us £158 million per annum
• Introduction of Universal Credit.

4. Worklessness
"people of working age who are not in formal
employment, but who are looking for a job (the
unemployed), together with people of working age
who are neither formally employed nor looking for
formal employment (the economically inactive)".
(Source: the Department of Work and Pensions)

5. Leicestershire Work and Skills Board
• Membership includes the Skills Funding Agency, BIS, District
council representative, Voluntary sector; College
representative, Work programme providers, Job centre plus,
Groundwork et al.
• Aim to better co-ordinate what is already happening to provide
a better service and reduce costs.
• Will link into the LLEP Employment and Skills Group.

6. Projects Currently Underway:
• Employer Hub model
• Construction Based Initiative
• Local employment clauses in Procurement contracts
• Supporting Leicestershire Families
• Opportunities through Green Deal for local
employment
• Local initiatives

7. Local Initiative: Marks and Spencer E-Commerce
Centre
Castle Donington

8. Example of current work:
• Marks and Spencer E-Commerce Distribution Centre
• Looking to assist in the linking of transport to people
to employment.
• Local Sustainable Transport Fund with the People
2 Places and Wheels to Work schemes.
• Ensuring that Leicestershire people are aware of the
opportunities offered in the development particularly
those `furthest from the job market’.
• Working with lead agencies - Derby JCP and
Remploy

9. LCC Apprentices
• Currently there are 60 apprentices directly employed by LCC
in a variety of roles – particularly in Business & Administration
and Customer Service. Looking to increase this number in
future.
• Also around 190 apprentices have been placed in Small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) in the County through the Adult
Learning Service

10. Construction Opportunities
• Through the Work & Skills Board agree to co-ordinate major
planning applications of developments which could provide
opportunities for employment and apprenticeships.
• Opportunities may exist through Section 106 Planning remit to
collect funding for a central construction employment hub. A
pilot is currently being worked on at Glenfield Park in Blaby
District and the Crescent Retail scheme in Hinckley.
• From this a County-wide scheme will be developed.
• Coordinated approach with Leicestershire colleges,
developers; Job Centre Plus; other Public and voluntary
sector organisations.

11. Developing the Leicestershire Offer
• Develop a Leicestershire hub, similar to Cornwall Works.
• This covers all training and employment information for the
client and also brings together associated areas such as Debt
Advice.
• Providers and businesses can also gather information at this
“One-stop shop”
• Exploring the development of an online directory for all users.