Going to work: How councils are joining up services to increase employment and skills

Going to work explores cross-departmental working between borough departments to combat worklessness and boost skills.

The report examines joint working between regeneration departments - who often commission or run employment services - and other services, such as health, housing and children's services.

Worklessness and skills have both received a high government billing in recent years. The government has achieved 74.9% employment through mainstream services such as Jobcentre Plus, but now recognises that to reach its 80% employment rate aspiration, it must access hard-to-reach clients who traditionally do not engage with mainstream services. For these clients to achieve sustainable employment, they must have access to support that addresses all their needs, including health, housing, childcare, welfare and probation services. This kind of holistic, integrated, cross-departmental delivery can only happen at a local level.