Cabinet – 5 August 2014 Executive Summary of Agenda Item 5
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CABINET – 5 AUGUST 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM 5 Report title: 2013/14 Mayoral Commissions’ reports and recommendations Wards affected: All Strategic Director: Education & Skills Commission – John Readman Fairness Commission – Max Wide Homes Commission – Barra Mac Ruari Sports Commission – Alison Comley Report Author: Paul Taylor, Service Manager – Policy & Research RECOMMENDATION for the Mayor’s approval: 1. Recommend that Mayor and Cabinet note the reports and officers’ initial comments (appendix 5), and the comments raised by Overview & Scrutiny Management Board (appendix 6). 2. Request that the Mayor and Cabinet provide a steer on the Council’s approach to the recommendations in response to each of the Commissions’ work, and captures any lessons learned from the process. Key background / detail: The Mayor set up four Commissions in 2013 to look into some of the key issues facing the city in the fields of Education & Skills, Fairness, Homes and Sports. The Commissions have now reported to the Mayor and the reports made available at: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/mayor/mayoral-commissions. The Mayor asked a range of independent experts to join the Commissions, in order to draw upon some of the expertise both within and beyond the city. This report in draft was received by Overview & Scrutiny on 10th July. Cabinet is asked to review the Commission reports alongside comments from scrutiny attached as Appendix 6. AGENDA ITEM 5 BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL CABINET 5 AUGUST 2014 REPORT TITLE: 2013/14 MAYORAL COMMISSIONS’ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Ward(s) affected by this report: ALL Strategic Director: Education & Skills Commission, John Readman Fairness Commission, Max Wide Homes Commission, Barra Mac Ruairi Sports Commission, Alison Comley Report author: Paul Taylor, Service Manager – Policy & Research Contact telephone no. 07775 220651 & e-mail address: [email protected] Purpose of the report: The purpose of this report is to provide Cabinet with the Mayoral Commissions’ reports and recommendations, Officers’ initial comments and recommendations for action. RECOMMENDATION for the Mayor’s approval: 1. Recommend that the Mayor and Cabinet note the reports and officers’ initial comments (appendix 5), and the comments raised by Overview & Scrutiny Management Board (appendix 6). 2. Request that the Mayor and Cabinet provide a steer on the Council’s approach to the recommendations in response each of the Commissions’ work, and captures any lessons learned from the process. The proposal: 1. Overview The Mayor set up four Commissions in 2013 to look into some of the key issues facing the city in the fields of Education & Skills, Fairness, Homes and Sports. The Commissions have now reported to the Mayor and the reports made available at: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/mayor/mayoral-commissions. The Mayor asked a range of independent experts to join the Commissions, in order to draw upon some of the expertise both within and beyond the city. This report in draft was received by Overview & Scrutiny on 10th July. Cabinet is asked to review the Commission reports alongside comments from scrutiny attached as Appendix 6. 1 Note that any areas where Cabinet expresses an interest in pursuing further the recommendations contained in the reports, these will be referred to relevant officers in relevant service areas to develop detailed proposals for further consideration by Cabinet. Recommend: That Cabinet acknowledge and communicate the value gained by working in partnership with other organisations through the Commissions, and to thank partners for their work: the Commissions have provided some opportunities to develop deeper partnerships, and have contributed to ensuring that the city makes good use of its shared assets to the benefit of Bristol. Where there are recommendations Cabinet would like to see receive further consideration, Cabinet are advised to consider how Overview & Scrutiny might be invited to conduct further in-depth work to advise on their implementation. 2. Commission reports Please note the Commissions’ reports and recommendations can be found in full in Appendices 1 – 4. The following offers short summaries of their work. Appendix 5 offers Council officer comments on the proposals, and appendix 6 provides comment from Overview & Scrutiny Management Board on 17th July 2014. EDUCATION & SKILLS COMMISSION Report summary Background Commission focused on how to maximise the employability of young people in Bristol and enable business to engage with young people, with a specific focus on Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone (TQEZ). It met five times between Oct 2013 and Mar 2014, with additional work taking place in sub-groups. Primary and secondary research included 270 responses from young people to an online survey (in two weeks), four focus groups, and schools visiting the Commission. 13 key partners from within and beyond Bristol engaged, also with Councillor involvement. Findings The Commission’s two main recommendations (listed below) should be seen as possible solutions to the various issues identified. If these are not viable, then other solutions should be identified. Recommendation 1: The Mayor develops a Passport for Employability in Bristol (PEBL) to provide all young people in Bristol with a baseline of ‘entitlements’ and opportunities to develop employability and enterprise skills and access effective Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG), as is in line with their needs and aspirations. Thereby decreasing the differences in young people’s experiences resulting from the nature of the education provision they currently receive, and regardless of their access to effective support should they not be in education or training. A ‘pilot’ of PEBL is recommended to ensure timely development of the initiative. PEBL should be developed alongside the LEP’s Employability Chartermark. Recommendation 2: The Mayor leads partners in the city to develop an ‘Engagement Hub’ in the TQEZ, to address the key issues that the city faces in this area. The purpose of the Engagement Hub is to enable businesses, education providers and young people to come together for initiatives/activities aimed at raising aspirations, promoting employability and enterprise, and facilitating and enhancing the provision of IAG and employability and enterprise. The Mayor should work with partners to create similar spaces beyond the TQEZ. 2 Key issues and assumptions The Commission looked at the type of young person needed by business now and in 5/10 years’ time. This led to a number of original approaches including eg: o ‘fields of work’ (young people encouraged to focus on an area rather than a specific job) o STEAM (integrating the Arts with STEM subjects) due to employers’ emerging needs o overcoming the ‘false’ academic / vocational divide The Commission considered it important that the Mayor incentivise all partners to engage, noting this would not necessarily be about money; and for the Mayor to encourage partners, including young people, in the city to engage and to ensure Bristol City Council (BCC) consider joint accountability and responsibility, involving all partners in developing solutions. The recommendations should be considered alongside the work already happening in Bristol: much could be achieved by linking existing initiatives into a coordinated system. The Commission looked at implementation and viability, and understood there would need to be some pump-priming funding. It was considered viable to approach corporates for this. Issues not addressed by the Commission There was a limit to how much the Commission could address during its lifespan. Its remit did not include looking at the issues for those younger than 14, but engaging this group in IAG and so on was seen as important, as many dispositions are formed earlier than 14. The Commission considered that more consultation was needed in some areas, and highlighted that it had not looked at the needs of specific disadvantaged groups deeply enough. The Commission thought the local authority boundaries around Bristol might provide additional challenges, and would need further consideration by BCC. FAIRNESS COMMISSION Report summary The Fairness Commission was invited to make recommendations that challenges the Council to fundamentally change the game on inequality in the City by asking ‘What kind of City do we want to be?’ and make a commitment to: ‘Be a City that works together to reduce inequalities through significant improvement in the life chances for its citizens.’ The Commission met six times between October 2013 and March 2014 developed recommendations around five main themes (as below) plus developed a series of Fairness Principles. The best place for children to grow up - a fair start in life Sharing prosperity - a fair place to live and work Fair Wages – a living wage for all Fairness for low-income families A happy, healthy city - fair and healthy communities The overarching ambitions for each section are set out below, but the Commission report contains recommendations under each of these themes. Ambition/Theme one - Bristol is a young city and it should aim to be the best place for children to grow up. What happens during pregnancy and during a child’s first few years of life is crucial to a child’s life chances. The Commission feels strongly that the City can’t afford not to invest in children. Bristol should brand itself as a young city with youthful ambition – with no child in Bristol left behind. 3 Ambition/Theme two - Bristol is