Summary
The Tackling Poverty through Employment Priority
The last cycle of the national ESF programme closed in December 2015. This included the London Councils ESF programme. That programme half funded the Committee’s Priority 3 Tackling Poverty through Employment.
The London Councils ESF Programme
London Councils is currently establishing its new ESF programme. Delivery will run to the end of 2018 and have a value of £22 million. London Councils is close to signing the agreement for this new programme with the GLA, which manages the overall ESF programme in London.
Previous Committee Decisions
As in the last programme, each element will be half funded by ESF and half funded by the boroughs. This includes £3 million allocated in principle by the Committee for this purpose at its meeting in December 2014. This allocation was made for three years but subject to the outcome of the Review of Grants. The agreements with the providers of the services will therefore enable London Councils to terminate them at the end of 2016/17 if members decide not to proceed with the Grants Programme beyond then.
The Priority will be delivered by third sector organisations through and open and competitive application process. The basis for this process is service specifications. At its meeting in December 2014, the Committee decided to retain in the service specifications for the new round the existing tight focus on tackling poverty through employment, except for any minor changes in target groups needed to accommodate changes required for ESF funding.
Implementing Committee Decisions
London Councils officers are translating these Committee decisions into the specifications. In doing so, officers are taking care to ensure outcomes will be delivered fairly across all boroughs.
The attached note gives more detail on the practical arrangements.
Integrating Homelessness and Employment Support
Through the Review of Grants, the Grants and Leaders' Committees have made clear that there must be more effective joint working between Priority 1 Homelessness and Priority 3 Poverty and the projects under these on the ground in boroughs.
Officers propose to make it a condition of funding that Priority 3 providers have an agreement to partner with a Priority 1 project in every borough. They will take referrals through this and provide integrated support for participants who require both types of support. This will be enforced through London Councils' performance management.
At London Councils, we have brought the staff who work on the two Priorities under single management in a new, integrated team.
We aim to make similar changes at both London Councils and borough levels in respect of Priority 3 and Priority 2 Sexual and Domestic Violence.
Member Control of Funding Decisions
In order to have the new Priority up and running within ESF timescales, it would be necessary for officers to commission the services, based on the proposals in this paper before the next meeting of the Committee. This is regrettable but London Councils is working to an external timetable.
