Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Council House building, Placemaking, and Local Economy wanted it noted that paragraph 1.1 of the report contained an error and should instead read: ‘this proposal seeks the approval from the Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Council House building, Placemaking, and Local Economy for Haringey Council to accept £807,302 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) revenue funding from Central London Forward for the period spanning April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025. No additional funding is required for this grant. The allocated funds will directly support Opportunity Haringey, our Inclusive Economy Framework Theme 3 – Good Work and Skills and be delivered by a collaboration of Haringey Learns and Haringey Works’.

It was noted that the Cabinet Member Introduction of the report should be revised and that the revised Cabinet Member Introduction should be as follows:

2.1. The People and Skills element of UKSPF came into force once European Social Fund monies ceased, and this element was released in October 2023 for the period up to March 2025. This funding has gone to the GLA for distribution. The GLA are using the funding in two ways firstly they are commissioning a range of People and Skills programmes, and the remaining balance of funds have been devolved to sub-regional partnerships. Haringey is part of the Central London Forward (CLF) partnership and the borough allocation to Haringey is spend, £807,302 for the 24/25 financial year.

2.2. Haringey’s approved plan for use of SPF funding outlines our intention to deliver employment support to residents furthest from the labour market through our Haringey Works and Haringey Learns services, and to work closely with locality and customer facing services across the Council to target residents facing the greatest barriers to accessing employment support. This aligns to our ambitions set out in Opportunity Haringey our Inclusive Economy Framework which aims to achieve an inclusive, more resilient economy, that is better able to withstand economic shocks and where our businesses can grow and thrive; with an economy that provides rewarding, well paid (at least London Living Wage) work. These ambitions directly align with the aims of the People and Skills UKSPF activities.

2.3. Haringey Works and Haringey Learns are central to delivering the aspirations of Theme 3 of Opportunity Haringey – ‘Good Work and Skills’ through a targeted and community based approach

The Cabinet Member for Council House building, Placemaking, and Local Economy RESOLVED:

To approve acceptance of a grant from CLF for £807,302 for the

delivery of the UKSPF People and Skills programme. The current agreement is

for a grant of £807,302, however dependent on whether there are underspends

by other authorities Cabinet are requested to approve acceptance of up to a

grant of £900,000. This will create an Employment Support programme

providing additional capacity for Haringey Works and Haringey Learns to deliver

employment and skills support for Haringey Residents. This is in accordance

with Contract Standing Order 17.1 Where the Council receives a grant from an

external body, the process for approving or varying the agreement for the grant

shall be the same as that set out in CSO 9.07 (i.e. the Director may approve

receipt of a grant valued at less than £500,000. For approval of receipt of grants

valued at £500,000 or more, a Cabinet decision is required).

Reasons for decision

1.    Haringey has a track record of delivering high quality employment support through Haringey Works and a range of partners. Haringey Learns has had two consecutive positive Ofsted reports.

2.    The acceptance of this UKSPF grant will enable the council to continue to deliver employment support to residents who are unemployed or economically inactive, and support the restructuring of the service and introducing new ways of working.

Alternative options considered

1.    Option to not accept - In a period of continuing employment challenges for Haringey’s residents as unemployment pressure is expected to continue in to 2024, not accepting the funding would make the Council less able to support into employment those furthest away from the job market.

2.    Option to commission delivery through sub-contracting – this would create an additional layer of contract management and reduce the funding available to directly support residents. Haringey Works is the Council’s employment support service with a track record of successfully supporting residents into employment and is aligned to Haringey Learns, our Adult Learning Service.