SCRUTINY COMMISSION (WORKFORCE PLANNING) 27th January 2006 PRESENT: Councillor C Nash in the Chair Councillors Ewens, Hamilton, Kendall and Alan Hughes 39 Chair’s Opening Remarks The Chair welcomed Members and officers to the meeting. 40 Declarations of Interest Councillor Hamilton declared a personal interest with regard to Minute No. 43 as she was employed by the NHS. 41 Apologies Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Lowe. 42 Minutes of the Last Meeting RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting held on 2nd December 2005 be approved as a correct record. 43 Workforce Planning within the NHS. The West Yorkshire Workforce Development Confederation (WDC) submitted a briefing paper to the Commission to provide an overview of the workforce planning practices within the NHS. The Commission was informed that the WDC was part of the NHS, but had responsibilities for NHS and non-NHS healthcare staff. Members learned that the key role of the WDC was to commission education and training on behalf of health care organisations. The WDC commissioned education and training in terms of: medical and dental staff; non-medical staff such as nurses, physiotherapists, health care scientists, and clinical psychologists; plus other non-qualified or un-registered employees such as health care assistants, administrative and clerical staff. Wyn Jones, Acting Director of Workforce Development for the WDC, was at the meeting to present the paper and respond to Members’ questions and comments. In brief summary, the main points were as follows: • the WDC were funded directly by the Department of Health and its budget for this financial year was £204m for West Yorkshire • the WDC collected detailed workforce information from local NHS Trusts on a quarterly basis, they then used an integrated local development planning system combining workforce, service and financial planning • the different healthcare organisations were expected to work closely together to make sure the plans were fully integrated • the WDC then worked with information and finance colleagues from within the strategic health authority to ensure that actual trends were in line with projections Draft minutes for approval at the Commission’s meeting to be held on 24th February 2006 • however, despite careful planning, the WDC acknowledged that their plans were not always completely successful. A particular example was given in relation to physiotherapists • Members noted that previously, the number of commissions for physiotherapy training had been increased to meet a projected demand. However, as healthcare organisations were under severe financial pressures, a lot of them had vacancy freezes in place which resulted in new graduates struggling to find jobs as there were insufficient junior posts • the WDC were looking to find ways of supporting organisations to recruit junior physiotherapists including diverting some of their funds, and looking to develop rotations and different ways of managing work so that additional junior posts could be identified • Members noted that the WDC could not force organisations to employ people coming out of universities • the WDC also had responsibility for providing staff and training for non- NHS organisations in terms of private health care • the WDC had an ongoing forum where they met with people from non NHS organisations • however, future planning was reported to be more difficult with regard to private sector organisations as they only had commitment to their current contracts: if they won a new contract then they would recruit additional staff • however, West Yorkshire WDC had a member of Bupa on their management board who worked closely with them • the WDC had also developed overseas recruitment, return to practice schemes and ways of enabling workers approaching retirement to reduce their hours without affecting their pension RESOLVED – That the contents of the briefing paper and presentation be noted. 44 Review of the Evidence Considered by the Commission to Date The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report to the Commission with copies of the minutes from the Commission’s previous meetings attached. The Commission reviewed and reflected on the evidence it had already considered. In brief summary, the main points were as follows: • the need to identify skills overlaps as well as skills gaps • the need to develop the skills in the regional workforce required to provide services to the public irrespective of which organisation or sector manages them • the approach taken by the NHS with regard to workforce planning for West Yorkshire as a whole, and the need for regional co-ordination and co-operation with regards to the broader workforce planning agenda • how local authorities could identify future service needs and plan accordingly • the need to integrate workforce planning with service and financial planning • that the government’s choice agenda presented challenges with regard to effective workforce planning Draft minutes for approval at the Commission’s meeting to be held on 24th February 2006 • the importance of community consultation • the need for basic literacy and numeracy skills training • the increasing importance of ICT, interpersonal skills and how the two are related • the extent to which the Learning and Skills Council are picking up on the issues identified RESOLVED – That the Commission receive evidence from the West Yorkshire Employer Coalition, the Learning and Skills Council, and the University of Leeds at its final meeting in February 2006. 45 Date and Time of Next Meeting Friday 24th February 2006 at 9:30am (pre-meeting at 9am) Draft minutes for approval at the Commission’s meeting to be held on 24th February 2006 Agenda Item: Originator: A Brogden Tel: 24 74553 Report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development Scrutiny Commission (Workforce Planning) Date: 24th February 2006 Subject: Workforce Planning - Evidence from the Learning and Skills Council, University of Leeds and West Yorkshire Employer Coalition Electoral Wards Affected: Specific Implications For: Ethnic minorities Women Disabled people Narrowing the Gap 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This is the final session of the Scrutiny Commission’s Inquiry into Workforce Planning. The purpose of this session is to review the role of Leeds City Council as an employer in influencing the provision of a future workforce through higher education and the Learning and Skills Council. 1.2 Representatives from the Learning and Skills Council West Yorkshire and the University of Leeds have therefore been invited to today’s meeting to provide an overview of their roles and share their experiences and knowledge in relation to workforce planning. 1.3 In preparation for the meeting, an extract from the latest LSC document ‘Leeds in Depth 2006. A Learning, Skills and Labour Market Profile of Leeds’ has been attached as Appendix 1 for Members information. A full copy of this document is available on the LSC website (www.lsc.gov.uk/westyorks). 1.4 To complement this document, a copy of the Leitch Review of Skills Interim Report ‘Skills in the UK: The long-term challenge’ is also attached as Appendix 2 for Members information. 1.5 A briefing note from the University of Leeds will also be made available during the meeting. 2.0 Role of the West Yorkshire Employer Coalition 2.1 In addition, the Chair of the West Yorkshire Employer Coalition will also be attending today’s meeting to provide an overview of the work being carried out by the Coalition in relation to workforce planning, with particular reference to the partnership working being carried out with the Learning and Skills Council. 2.2 Background information about the West Yorkshire Employer Coalition and the activities being carried out by the Coalition is attached as Appendix 3 for Members consideration. 2.3 A briefing paper from the Council’s Head of Regional Policy has also been provided for Members to give an overview of the other regional organisations which Leeds is apart of in developing workforce planning. This is attached as Appendix 4. 3.0 Recommendation 3.1 Members are asked to note the attached reports. For information Leeds in Depth 2006 A Learning, Skills and Labour Market Profile of Leeds ‘A comprehensive Assessment of the learning and skills market in Leeds’ January 2006 Contents List of Tables and Figures 5 Chapter 1: Economic and Policy Context 5 Chapter 2: Skills Demand 6 Chapter 3: Skills Supply 7 Chapter 4: Learning Infrastructure 8 Introduction 9 Chapter 1: Economic and Policy Context 10 Key Points 11 Key Issues 11 Economic and Policy Context – An Overview 11 1.1 The Local Economy 12 Introduction 12 Population 13 Economic Activity 14 Employment and Future Prospects 16 Opportunities through Economic Development/Inward Investment 20 Unemployment 21 Earnings 26 Indices of Deprivation 26 Social Exclusion 28 Leeds Economic Performance 29 1.2 The Learning and Skills Council 31 National Framework 32 Local Priorities 2005/6 32 1.3 Funding 32 1.4 Partnerships 32 Chapter 2: Skills Demand 34 Key Points 35 Key Issues 35 Skills Demand – An Overview 35 2.1 Business Diversity 36 2.2 Jobs and Occupations 38 2.3 Earnings 39 2.4 Vacancies and Recruitment Difficulties 40 2.5 Future Skill Needs 45 Definition of a Skills Shortage 45 Skills Gaps and the Impact on Business 46 Solutions for Skills Gaps 46 Employer Demand for Skills 48 Forecasts of Future Skills Needs and Qualifications 49 2.6 Future Learning Demand 49 Employer Demand for Learning 49 Individual Demand for Learning 50 Chapter 3: Skills