With 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness or disability, 1 in 8 young people being NEET and nearly one in five working age adults not holding at least a Level 2 qualification, the UK is the only major economy that has seen its employment rate fall over the last five years.

A number of interventions are to be introduced by Government to improve the employment support system, including:

• deploying extra staff to cut NHS waiting lists in areas of high inactivity. 8 mayoral combined authority areas will lead inactivity trailblazers, which will design a new model of locally joined-up work, health and skills support
• resourcing all areas in England to produce local ‘Get Britain Working’ Plans, focusing specifically on reducing economic inactivity in the local population by bringing employment, health and skills support together
• reforming Jobcentre Plus into a new national jobs and careers service, bringing together Jobcentres and the National Careers Service in England and partnering with employers and other local services to focus on supporting people into long-term careers
• introducing a new Youth Guarantee, so every young person has access to education or training. This will be tested via 8 trailblazers in mayoral combined authorities

• transforming the Apprenticeship Levy in England into a Growth and Skills Levy, aimed at expanding opportunities for young people to develop skills and get into work
• expanding access to mental health support
• providing a greater focus on prevention, to stop people becoming ill in the first place

Mayors and councils will be empowered to join up local work, health and skills support in ways that meet the specific needs of their local areas.

An English Devolution White Paper, will be published in due course, which will set out in more detail how Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), Get Britain Working Plans and the Local Growth Plans (that will be developed by mayoral Combined Authorities and focus on long-term economic growth) will work together. Furthermore, an independent review will also be launched, looking at how employers can be better supported to employ people with disabilities and health conditions and keep them in the workplace.

Finally, the Government intends to bring forward measures to overhaul the health and disability benefits system, to better support people to enter and remain in work. A consultation is planned for the Spring.

For more information on any of the above, please contact: samantha.barker@liverpoolchamber.org.uk