Key Headlines Monthly Update March 2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Monthly Update March 2019 Key Headlines Research, Development, Innovation and Energy Our ambitions to decarbonise the Tees Valley have been presented at a summit in Birmingham. Work to develop detailed plans for Hydrogen refuelling stations is underway. Work is underway with Teesside Cluster, advising Government on the deployment of CCS at scale in the 2030’s. The Local Energy Hub project is receiving additional support from Government to develop community energy projects. New projects are continuing to be identified across the 6 Local Enterprise Partnerships involved. Education, Employment and Skills To date 1,144 participants are currently engaged with Tees Valley Routes to Work, with 97 supported into employment. Transport & Infrastructure An eight week public consultation on the New Tees Crossing proposal was launched at the Riverside Stadium on the 13th March. The new Parkgate pedestrian and cyclist bridge, which links Darlington station with the growing Central Park Enterprise Zone site, was officially opened on the 12th March. Culture The first Enjoy Tees Valley Mini Guide has been printed and will be displayed in leaflet racks across Tees Valley and within a 2-3 hour drive time of Tees Valley in time for Easter. Zest Theatre is developing their regional wide Project ‘Youthquake’; they have completed their first week at the Centre for Excellence in Creative Arts in Hartlepool. Investment The Tees Valley Local Assurance Framework was approved by Cabinet on 15th March. This sets out the framework for how projects and programmes will be prioritised, appraised, approved, signed off and delivered, and is available on our website Initial discussions are under way with our 5 partner Local Authorities to develop and accelerate their five key priority projects as identified in our 10 Year Investment Plan. We are also working with the Authorities to develop the overall Indigenous Growth (Place) Programme and to release some early funding under this programme to enable the Authorities to develop their local programmes. Governance and Communication A meeting of the Cabinet took place on 15th March where items considered and approved included: o Treasury Management Strategy 2019/20 o Scrutiny study: Diversity in the Tees Valley Combined Authority Membership o Tees Valley Assurance Framework o Compulsory purchase of land by South Tees Development Corporation A full set of papers for the meeting can be viewed here A media/stakeholder event was organised to announce the purchase of Durham Tees Valley Airport and the announcement of its new operator, Stobart Group. We achieved prominent and extensive media coverage. We launched a consultation on a new Tees Crossing to 70 stakeholders and members of the public at the Riverside. The event was delivered in partnership with Transport for the North which used it to launch its Strategic Transport Plan. An additional five separate public drop-in sessions, which were held across the region, exceeded expectations with 1,247 attendees. We also created a “virtual consultation room” online, generating 3,400 visits to date. Consultation materials have been set up in Stockton Library and we will continue to promote the consultation through the media and digital communications channels until it concludes on 17th May. Attended MIPIM Cannes on behalf of the STDC, with very positive discussions held with a range of investment intermediaries and stakeholders. A series of follow-up meetings have been arranged for early April. 2 Updates Education, Employment and Skills Routes to Work The Tees Valley Routes to Work (RTW) Pilot is progressing well in relation to supporting long-term unemployed Tees Valley residents into, or closer to, sustainable employment. At present, 1,144 participants are engaged with the programme and to date, 97 have been supported into employment. Stage 2 of the RTW evaluation is being progressed and aims to establish a mechanism for understanding the impact on lives, services and public sector funding, as well as understand the participant groups in order to effectively evaluate the Pilot and to help inform future policy and investment. Apprenticeships National Apprenticeship Week 2019 (4th – 8th March) The Combined Authority and the North East Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses, hosted two opportunities for Tees Valley businesses. Employer breakfasts, delivered by Nifco, Lotte and Sabic, who have a track record in apprenticeships, were held in Darlington and Stockton. The events provided attendees with the opportunity to hear first-hand about the benefits that apprentices can bring to their business; the process involved in finding, recruiting and managing an apprentice, the support available and grants to help them financially. Approximately 20 businesses attended. Alongside these events were opportunities for schools, parents and pupils to attend evening sessions with the employers. In addition, multiple events were held in schools across Tees Valley to promote apprenticeships as an option for young people. Media collated from these events will be made available on the Tees Valley Careers.com website. The Combined Authority are currently working with the Learning & Work Institute, to design and create an Employer Toolkit. The toolkit will contain relevant information on apprenticeships, what they are, funding available, employing process and the employer levy, containing links to organisations who will be able to provide further information and bespoke support to employers. Further information will be provided once the toolkit is complete. In the meantime, information regarding financial support is currently available from the Combined Authority to local employers who wish to recruit an apprentice. The information can be found here. Post-16 Review of post-16 qualifications at Level 3 and below in England 3 The Department for Education are seeking views on the principles that should guide their review of post-16 qualifications at Level 3 and below. The consultation is the first stage of the Government’s review of post-16 Level 3 and below qualifications (excluding T Levels, A Levels and GCSEs). It asks for views on the high level principles and outlines proposals for the removal of funding approval for unreformed qualifications. The consultation will run for 12 weeks – closing date 09:00 on 10th June 2019 and can be found here. The response to this consultation and second stage of the review will follow later in 2019. Adult Education The Commissioning Process for the Adult Education Budget is on-going, Budget (AEB) with 52 Delivery Plans received and being appraised. It is intended to issue indicative funding awards to providers in April 2019, with final funding awards intended to be issued to providers in June 2019, subject to Cabinet approval in May 2019. Careers National Careers Week 2019 National Careers Week took place 4th-8th March, coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week. Many of the Tees Valley schools and colleges worked in collaboration with the Combined Authority’s Careers Team and hosted events including mock interviews, career talks and assemblies. TeesValley Careers.com The TeesValleyCareers.com showcase event, which took place on 6th March at the Riverside Stadium, showcased the revamped teesvalleycareers.com website as well as updating the careers funding offer for schools and colleges to use to help improve performance against Gatsby benchmarks. The event was attended by 105 delegates, primarily newly engaged businesses and schools. Pupils from four schools presented at the event, highlighting the positive impact that the employer engagement had made to their preparation for work. The Teesvalleycareers.com co-ordinators are working to target 1,000 businesses from all sectors and of all sizes to work with schools and colleges. To date, there are 300 businesses engaged. If you would like to get involved in this work and are interested in becoming a Business Enterprise Adviser, please contact us on the following email address: [email protected] Tees Valley Enterprise Co-ordinators The Tees Valley Enterprise Coordinators continue to work with all 70 11-19 Education establishments in the Tees Valley. These include Secondary Schools, Special Schools, Sixth Forms and Further Education Colleges. Of these Education Establishments, 47 have a Business Enterprise Adviser working directly with the Careers Lead in the establishment. We are keen to recruit a further 20 Enterprise Advisers to develop meaningful encounters with employers for all students. 4 Overall, the Tees Valley schools have improved their performance by more than 50% across all 8 benchmarks in the three months since December 2018. Educational Support The Combined Authority’s Careers Team continues to offer professional development sessions for educational establishments. A Careers Hub workshop on Benchmark 5 ‘Encounters with Employers’, delivered in conjunction with the North East England Chamber of Commerce, took place on Thursday 28th March. Careers Hub Following the submission of a the Combined Authority bid to the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) in February, for the extension of the current Tees Valley Careers Hub, the team attended the CEC interview in London on 14th March. If successful, the extension will enable the Combined Authority to extend the Careers Hub to include a total of 60 Educational Establishments in Tees Valley. Skills Advisory The Combined Authority is working with the Department for Education’s