Economy and Investment Overview and Scrutiny Commission

9:30 a.m. Thursday, 14 November, 2019, Room 77, The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull, HU12AA

Present: Councillors Abbott, Burton, Chaytor, Drake-Davis, Dunstan, Gardiner, Healand, Herrera-Richmond (Chair), Pritchard (substituting for Councillor Drake-Davis) and Williams

In attendance:

S. Gamble, Head of 14-19 Learning and Skills, Employability, Skills and Participation, S. Tomlinson, Employability and Skills and Participation Lead, Employability, Skills and Participation, Hull City Council C. Howell, Provider Manager, Employability, Skills and Participation, Hull City Council S. Pashley, Principal, Ron Dearing UTC T. Chalmers, Executive Director Employment and Skills, Humber Local Enterprise Partnership J. Blesic, Assistant Director, Human Resources and Organisational Development S. Sloan, Head of Learning and Development, Hull City Council P. Holloway, Arts and Culture Manager, Hull City Council M. Martins, Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer, Freedom Festival Arts Trust A. Codd, Assistant Director, Economic Development and Regeneration, Hull City Council A. Spouse, Scrutiny Officer, Committee and Scrutiny, Town Clerk’s Service, Hull City Council

Apologies: Councillors Brabazon and Drake-Davis

Minute Number Action to be Taken by 23 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (a) Scrutiny Officer - AS

Councillor Dunstan declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 5 (Minute 26) in so far as he was a Council nominated Director on Kingstown Works Limited and in Agenda Item 6 (Minute 27) in so far as he was a Council nominated Director on Hull Culture and Leisure Limited.

Councillor Pritchard declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 6 (Minute 27) in so far as he was a Freedom Festival Arts Trust volunteer.

24 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, 17 (a) Scrutiny Officer - AS OCTOBER, 2019

The Scrutiny Officer submitted the minutes from the October meeting for consideration and approval.

Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations:

Agreed:

a) That the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 17 a) N/A October, 2019, are agreed, and having been printed and circulated be taken as read and correctly recorded.

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25 POST-16 EDUCATION, LEARNING AND SKILLS (a -b) S. Gamble / T. Chalmers / S. Pashley (c -d) S. Gamble / T. Chalmers

S. Gamble, Head of 14-19 Learning and Skills, Employability, Skills and Participation at Hull City Council, S. Tomlinson, Employability, Skills and Participation Lead, Employability, Skills and Participation at Hull City Council, C. Howell, Provider Manager, Employability, Skills and Participation at Hull City Council, S. Pashley, Principal, Ron Dearing UTC and T. Chalmers, Executive Director Employment and Skills, Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (Humber LEP) attended for the item.

The Head of 14-19 Learning and Skills explained that the paper aimed to provide an overview of the current post-16 education, learning and skills landscape, including where we were as a City and what we needed to do to meet current and future workforce challenges.

The Executive Director Employment and Skills (Humber LEP) advised the Commission that the Department for Education had placed a requirement on all LEPs to establish a Skills Advisory Panel to produce local skills data and analysis. Each LEP had received £75k funding to support the process. The LEP had worked in partnership with the Council to develop the commissioning and tender process and a company had now been appointed to carry out the work. The first set of data dashboards had been produced for the region. The data had not thrown up any huge surprises but it was the first time all the data had been brought together under a single banner and presented in such a way. It was hoped that the skills providers would use the data to help shape skills and training provision.

The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead explained that the new Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) were in essence morphing into the old Employment and Skills Boards. In terms of their remit they had been created to monitor workforce supply and demand within the local economy with a view to ensuring local labour market needs were being met.

The Commission discussed:

i. How much input the SAPs had from pre-16 providers and how the new data had influenced the development of the Industrial Strategy. The Executive Director Employment and Skills at the Humber LEP explained that the main focus was post 16 provision but the LEP did also work with schools. The SAP data sets ran to 39 pages most of which was available in the public domain. The data had been used to shape the ‘people chapter’ of the Industrial Strategy. The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead advised the Commission that the terms of reference for SAPs were prescriptive in terms of membership, and the membership included schools.

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ii. The future for the 40% of Ron Dearing UTC pupils who had not gone into full time apprenticeships. The UTC Principal advised the Commission that the majority of pupils’ who had not entered an apprenticeship had either gone on to university or into work. The links with their employer partners were what made the system so effective. iii. If other schools in the City could learn from the UTC’s approach. The UTC Principal felt it would be difficult to replicate elsewhere given the requirements of the education system and national curriculum. The UTC had been set up in conjunction with its employer partners and they continued to work with them across all areas. The curriculum included the core subjects required by the Department for Education but beyond that they worked with their partners to develop the other elements of the curriculum and the options for pupils. Pupils learnt the theory in the classroom and then applied that theory to real projects in conjunction with employee partners. Her relationship with the employee partners was just as important as her relationship with UTC management team. She felt it represented a culture shift other schools would have difficulty embracing. In practical terms employers had stopped moaning about the skills gap and done something about it. The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead explained that historically most secondary schools had a strong academic base, the development of UTCs allowed for a bit more freedom. Nationally, some UTCs had not done so well, including the UTC on the south bank. The Ron Dearing UTC had to be commended for its approach, including the level of integration and success to date. The UTC Principal explained that the school still had a strong academic base but it offered academic and applied learning with a strong technical element. None of the sixth form qualifications offered were anything less than A-Level standard. iv. Whether the qualifications offered in the City were meeting the demand of the local labour market. The UTC Principal outlined how they worked with partners to shape the curriculum as well as developing an understanding of the individual skills and strengths employers were looking for. v. If the UTC mapped where their pupils were coming from and if it was from all parts of the City, including more deprived areas? The UTC Principal advised the Commission that they took pupils from all the secondary schools in Hull as well as schools in the East Riding. Of their intake, 26% of pupils were eligible for free school meals. They also seemed to attract a lot of children who had been home schooled plus some students from pupil referral units. They were attracting a lot of bright pupils from a range of different backgrounds. The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead advised the Commission that all local authorities were required to write to the parents or guardians of year 9 pupils to outline their options. The UTC Principal explained that Hull City Council also allowed the UTC to write to parents directly in order to outline the UTC offer in more detail, something Council did not

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allow.

vi. If the UTC was able to target schools they were not getting many pupils from. The UTC Principal explained that while schools were required to let the UTC in, the schools could dictate when the visits took place. She understood schools reluctance to encourage open access given the £5k premium attached to each pupil. vii. How closely the Council worked with schools. The Head of 14-19 Learning and Skills, Employability explained that it was not always easy to gain access to schools following the introduction of the academy system, but they did host events when invited to do so and they were working hard to build relationships. The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead highlighted the success of the ‘Skills Humber Event’ with next year’s event scheduled for March 2020. Last year’s event had been attended by 4500 young people. They were trying to promote careers advice and guidance as the quality of provision did vary. The event had to be commercial in order to pay for itself and ensure they could transport young people to and from the event. The City’s Bond Holders also attended. viii. The influence the Skills Advisory Panels would have at local level. The Executive Director Employment and Skills (Humber LEP) advised the Commission that the panels would produce market led intelligence for schools and providers to utilise.

ix. A query raised during the last update which questioned why more young people in Doncaster appeared to go into apprenticeships, and whether we had been able to identify the drivers for that. The Provider Manager explained that they had followed up the query with Doncaster Council but had not been able to identify an obvious answer. It may have just come down to the dynamics of the local economy. The Commission discussed whether the number of local academy schools might influence how many pupils went into apprenticeships and whether Doncaster was a recognised comparator authority for Hull. Members also queried whether Doncaster had a University Technical College? The UTC Principal confirmed that a Universal Technical College was currently under construction in Doncaster.

x. The relationship between the UTC and its employer partners. The UTC Principal explained how one of the employer partners had taken on 14 apprentices after working closely with the pupils over the course of two years.

xi. The lack of information around the take-up of the apprenticeship levy and the need to educate and support SMEs in utilising the levy.

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xii. If we knew how many of the 107 levy payers in Hull had accessed the funding to train and upskill staff. The Head of 14-19 Learning and Skills explained that they would be able to confirm how much was paid into the levy but they would not be able to confirm how much of that money had then been drawn down. The Executive Director Employment and Skills (Humber LEP) explained how the LEP would welcome more data. It was clear that some businesses did just view the levy as an additional tax. Some employers had maximised the levy or used the levy transfer (which allowed them to transfer up to 25% of their levy contribution to another company in the supply chain). The LEP was also working SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) to raise awareness regarding the levy. xiii. Who had overall responsibility for monitoring the utilisation of the levy? The Executive Director Employment and Skills explained that the Department for Education (and the Skills Funding Agency) oversaw the levy and that was why they were pushing the use of levy transfers. xiv. Support that was in place to help get young disabled people or young people with autism into employment. The Employability, Skills and Participation Lead explained that all local authorities now had a duty to promote supported internships and the Council had appointed an officer to work with young people and local businesses to facilitate that process. Provision had been put in place to help young people with their travel arrangements so they could become more independent. They were also working with the Humber Learning Consortium on a project that helped young people from the age of 18 onwards to improve the transition between further education and the world of work. The Executive Director Employment and Skills (Humber LEP) informed the Commission that the LEP had secured some European Social Fund monies to work with employers who wanted to attain ‘Disability Confident’ accreditation which aimed to increase businesses knowledge and understanding when it came to helping people who needed a bit of extra support. The UTC Principal described how the UTC took on a lot of highly talented children, many of whom were on the autism spectrum, which meant it was essential that they worked very closely with employers from an early stage to build relationships and breakdown perceived barriers.

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Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations:

Agreed:

a) That the representatives from Hull City Council, Humber a) As per the minute Local Enterprise Partnership and Ron Dearing University Technical College, are thanked for attending and updating Members on the Post 16 Education Learning and Skills landscape, including the development of Skills Advisory Panels and key challenges moving forward.

b) The Commission also welcomes the success of the Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC) and notes b) As per the minute that there may be opportunities for other schools in the City to learn from the UTC’s approach.

c) The Commission continues to have concerns about how business views and utilises the apprenticeship levy, and c) As per the minute will continue to look at ways the Council and partners can encourage local businesses to maximise the levy.

d) That further to the above, the data on levy contributions d) As per the minute referenced at today’s meeting, is provided to Members, with a view to better understanding the total funding pot available to employers in the City.

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26 HULL CITY COUNCIL APPRENTICESHIP LEVY (EXISTING (a -d) J. Blesic / S. Sloan WORKFORCE)

J. Blesic, Assistant Director, Human Resources and Organisational Development and S. Sloan, Head of Learning and Development, Hull City Council attended for the item. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development explained that the team had done an excellent job in making sure the Council maximised the apprenticeship levy. The Council did not like giving money back to the Government. The levy was being used to benefit the workforce and help staff progress within the organisation.

The Commission discussed:

i. If there were any areas were the Council was not exploiting the opportunities provided by the levy. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development explained that the detail was in the planning, which took place on an ongoing basis. Courses such as the high value leadership programme had helped the Council spend the levy. The number of employees going through the leadership programme would fall over time and the apprenticeship programme would become more diverse. The Head of Learning and Development explained that the provider market was also becoming more diverse which represented a positive development.

ii. If it would be possible to split the figures for social worker degrees sponsored by Adults and Children services in future reports in order to provide a more rounded picture.

iii. Next steps in regard to utilising the levy. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development advised the Commission that it would be business as usual moving forward. The Head of Learning and Development informed Members that the Council was the top performing local authority in terms of utilising the levy. Some areas had struggled with the eligibility criteria and she believed there was a need for more flexibility within the system. They had to work really hard to get staff on certain courses, with some staff having to go on unrelated pre-qualification courses (such as maths and English) that were not covered by the levy.

iv. Gaps in apprenticeship provision. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development advised the Commission that there were some gaps in provision, including in Human Resources, but they were working closely with the University, and training providers to meet outstanding demand. The market was growing and more courses were coming online.

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v. The lack of progress in regard to occupational health therapist apprenticeships and whether there would be further opportunities to work with Hull College with a view to developing essential courses moving forward.

vi. The need to ensure the Council could utilise the apprenticeship levy across all of it services, such as Housing Services, which would mean encouraging providers to establish new courses.

vii. If the Council still ran its own graduate training programme. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development confirmed that graduate funding ceased in 2011. Legal Services did still run a very successful internship scheme.

viii. The need for future reports to highlight gaps in apprenticeship provision in order that the Commission could focus on those areas and lobby as appropriate.

Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations:

Agreed:

a) The Commission welcomes the impressive performance a) N/a outlined in the paper and congratulates Human Resources and Council services on the way they have utilised the apprenticeship levy to support and upskill staff.

b) The Commission also notes that there continue to be b) As per the minute gaps in apprenticeship provision in the City and asks that Human Resources works with the appropriate Portfolio Holders to engage with Hull College, in an effort to address unmet demand.

c) That next year’s performance report highlights any c) As per the minute

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ongoing gaps in apprenticeship provision, so the Commission can explore those areas in more detail, and recommend or lobby for change as necessary.

d) The Commission also asks that next year’s performance d) As per the minute update differentiates between Social Care apprenticeships sponsored by Adult Services, and social care apprenticeships sponsored by Children’s services, in order to inform the discussion.

27 FREEDOM FESTIVAL ARTS TRUST – ANNUAL UPDATE (a) M. Jones / A. Burton / P. Curry

M. Martins, Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer, Freedom Festival Arts Trust attended for the item. He introduced the presentation and advised the Commission that the Trust wanted to continue delivering its unique message and connecting with younger people; the new chief executive would take up their post in February 2020; the Trust hoped to maintain the scale of the festival and continue to build capacity; the Trust wanted to be an national and international leader as well as an advocate for the City; the 2019 event had focused on human stories and older people, touching on subjects such as loneliness, identity and empowerment; the Trust aimed to promote community led projects; the Trust was keen to ensure the event remained family friendly with headline data showing 29% of attendees were children; the total audience figure for 2019 was 83,173 with a positive economic impact of £3.66 million; the Trust had decided against organising a large Saturday night show, putting resources into the daytime schedule in order to attract families; a lot of work went into engaging with young people and devolving power to them; core funding enabled the Trust to raise additional income; there was increased competition for funding nationally but the Trust was doing okay; the Trust was just in the process of preparing a four year Arts Council bid; production costs were a drain on the overall budget; security costs for 2019 were £55k; the Trust recognised that there were opportunities to work smarter but at the same time they did not want to compromise the event.

The Commission discussed:

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i. Wheelchair access to Queens Gardens and other scheduled events. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer advised the Commission that one of the biggest challenges was working in public spaces, which included identifying and reserving spaces for disabled audience Members. The process was much easier for indoor events. The Trust was continually reviewing and working with other festivals in an effort to improve access and address environmental concerns.

ii. How the economic impact of the Freedom Festival on the City was calculated. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer explained that the figures were calculated by undertaking 700 interviews and liaising with local businesses. They had used the same methodology each year in order to produce comparison data. They would be able to circulate the final evaluation report in the near future.

iii. The Trust’s relationship with local businesses. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer explained that the Trust worked very closely with the BID. More work needed to be done to ensure local businesses knew the audience would be there but he felt the general level of awareness was improving.

iv. If there were opportunities to increase commercial income to support the festival programme. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer acknowledged the comments and explained that the Trust had perhaps been over considerate when it came to exploiting commercial opportunities in the past. They needed to get the balance right between supporting local business and generating commercial income for the Trust. The Commission agreed that there was a need to strike the right balance.

v. If more could be done to market the Freedom Festival. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer advised the Commission that it was difficult, funding was finite but they continued to explore options with partners through the Cultural Collisions forum.

vi. The success of the ticketed events, the fact that tickets had sold quickly and whether the Trust was happy with the public response. The Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer advised the Commission that it was another example of trying to strike the right balance, there had been some nervousness, particularly in terms of maintaining the Festival’s inclusivity, but in general they were happy with how the ticketing had worked and the public reaction.

Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations:

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Agreed:

a) The Commission welcomes the annual Freedom Festival a) N/A Performance Update and congratulates the Trust on its tremendous work and plans moving forward.

b) That as soon as its available, the 2019 Freedom Festival b) As per the minute. evaluation report is circulated off agenda, so Members can better understand the breadth and impact of this year’s festival.

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28 DIRECTOR OF REGNERATION PRESENTATION (a -d) M. Jones / A. Codd

A. Codd, Assistant Director, Economic Development and Regeneration Hull City Council attended for this item. The presentation focused on sustainable enterprise; enterprise development; enterprise statistics; women in enterprise and engineering; youth enterprise; European structural and investment funds; Community Led Local Development.

The Assistant Director, Economic Development and Regeneration outlined the role of the Council and local partners in promoting enterprise in the City; explained that there were 8,295 units paying VAT or PAYE and a total of 6,055 businesses operating in the City; figures for 2017 showed 895 enterprise births at a birth rate of 13% (against 13.6% nationally) and 800 enterprise deaths at 11.6% (against 12.8% nationally); the net position for business births and deaths was better than both the national average and Yorkshire and Humber average.

Various programmes were in place with a view to supporting a greater number of women in enterprise and engineering, with two events held this year; women often faced different barriers to men and as a result bespoke support was necessary; the Peoples’ Panel had been used to identify key barriers; attitudes were starting to change and the Council was trying to play a part in that process; the Council was also working with employers to engage young girls and outline the opportunities offered by a career in enterprise or engineering.

The Youth Enterprise Team was working through the Making Changes for Careers Programme (MC4CP). The programme focused on 16 to 29 year olds and was looking to engage with 82 young people not involved with the labour market, with a view to helping 26 of them set up a business. Grants were available through the Youth Enterprise Bank and they could also access mentoring support. So far in 2019 the Youth Enterprise Bank had awarded 15 Test Market Grants to MC4CP participants, plus 6 grants to other young people setting up their own business (two of which were aged under 18).

In terms of European Structural and Investment Funds the Council was the accountable body for three European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded business support schemes; the schemes offered a diverse mix of products; they were now approaching 1000 requests for

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support; a new business start-up ICT grant had been introduced in recent weeks; all three schemes were aimed at SMEs within the Humber region; the funding streams were due to cease in June and September 2021 respectively, but extensions had been applied for; a further ERDF grant application was at an advanced stage with a decision expected soon; if successful the funding would see the introduction of an energy efficiency business support scheme which would help Hull based SMEs introduce low carbon measures.

Community Led Local Development was funded through European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) which consisted of the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The funding was used to support people back into work, which was one of the key priorities outlined in the City Plan. The funding was focused on the most deprived areas of the City. Project proposals had been invited in January 2018 and January 2019, and had resulted in 29 projects being progressed to a value of £6 million. Roadshows to publicise the projects were scheduled to take place in 2020.

The Commission discussed:

i. The enterprise births and deaths data, if it was possible to break the data down by size and sector, and whether we were in a position to determine the overall value of the enterprise births and deaths to the local economy over the course of a year.

ii. How the enterprise birth and death figures for Hull compared to that of comparator authorities and whether there was anything we could learn from comparator data.

iii. Receiving the results of the People Panel Survey to a future meeting so the Commission could better understand the barriers faced by women wishing to pursue a career in enterprise or engineering and the level of support currently available.

Recommendations: Reasons for Recommendations:

Agreed:

a) The Commission welcomes the update on enterprise development, including the work that is taking place to a) N/A help women develop careers in business and

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engineering. b) The Commission would like to see more in-depth b) As per the minute enterprise data at a future meeting with a view to better understanding the dynamics of the local economy and how the City is performing in comparison to other areas of the country.

c) That the update also includes the findings from the c) As per the minute People’s Panel Survey, which sought to identify career barriers faced by woman with a view to offering appropriate support and advice.

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