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Report to:
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Lead Member for
Economy
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Date of
meeting:
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14 October
2025
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By:
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Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport
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Title:
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Get Sussex Working
Plan
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Purpose:
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To seek endorsement of
the Get Sussex Working Plan and agreement to the current
Partnership Group overseeing the delivery of the Plan until new
governance structures are determined.
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RECOMMENDATIONS:The
Lead Memberis recommended to:
1)
Endorse the Get
Sussex Working Plan (The Plan) as a strategic framework for
employment, health and skills integration across
Sussex.
2)
Agree the
continuation of the current Partnership Group to oversee delivery
of the Plan until governance structures are confirmed via the
proposed new Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA);
and
3)
Delegate authority
to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to make
future minor amendments to the Plan.
1.
Background Information
1.1
The Get Sussex Working Plan (GSWP or ‘the Plan’) is a
pan-Sussex response to the UK Government’s Get Britain
Working white paper. It aims to reduce economic inactivity and
increase long-term employment to 80% by 2035, through a
whole-system approach to employment, health and skills. The Plan is
live and evolving, to be delivered and reviewed over the coming
decade.
1.2
The Plan has been developed collaboratively by East Sussex County
Council, West Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City
Council at the request of the Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP).
1.3
As per DWP requirements, the draft plan in its current form has
been formally endorsed by the DWP Regional Office, supported by the
Integrated Care Board (ICB) and has been submitted for review to
the DWP and ICB in line with the end of September 2025
deadline.
1.4
To produce the Get Sussex Working Plan (Appendix 1), the partners
commissioned a Labour Market Data Mapping and Analysis Report
(Appendix 2) and stakeholder consultation and user voice workshops
(Appendix 3 - Stakeholder list and Appendix 4 - Stakeholder
consultation reports).
1.5
Over 200 stakeholders contributed to the consultation
process, including employers, Voluntary, Community and Social
Enterprises, education providers, National Health Service and the
DWP. Insights from Connected Futures Hastings peer research further
shaped the Plan. In East Sussex, the Skills and Employment East
Sussex Board was actively involved in the development of the plan
from inception, at a mid-point workshop and undertook a review of
the draft plan.
1.6
An officer working group from across the 3 authorities reviewed
findings of the analysis and stakeholder reports, in conjunction
with local and national policy and strategies including Economic
Growth Plans, the Local Skills Improvement Plan, DWP and ICB
reports and the NHS 10-year plan. The officer group made
recommendations to the Get Sussex Working Partnership Group,
established to steer the development of the Plan.
1.7
The Partnership Group includes the DWP, Sussex Chamber of Commerce
(the lead accountable body for the Local Skills Improvement Plan),
Public Health and Employment and Skills leads from all 3 upper tier
local authorities. Officers from the 3 authorities collaborated to
draft the Plan.
1.8
The Plan will run from 2025 until 2035, spanning a period of major
change including:
·
Reorganisation of the Integrated Care Board
·
Development of the
second Local Skills Improvement Plan 2026-2029
·
Formation of the proposed Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA)
from May 2026 and devolution of funding
(including funds for skills and employment support)
·
Development of the
MCCA Strategic Skills Plan by December 2026
·
Proposed Local
Government Reorganisation by 2028
·
Merger of Job Centres
and National Careers Service into the new National Jobs and Careers
Service.
All of the above developments have
implications for the delivery of the Get Sussex Working Plan.
2.
Supporting
Information
2.1
Sussex faces significant challenges in relation to employment
including low job density, a predominantly SME (Small to Medium
Sized Enterprise) based economy, skills shortages, a low skilled
workforce, low wages but a high cost of living, intergenerational
worklessness and relatively high levels of economic inactivity. In
addition, the geography of the county limits access to jobs, with
pockets of significant coastal deprivation and limited transport
links providing another barrier to employment for many living in
rural parts of the county.
2.2
Targeted employment support interventions are needed and the GSWP
identifies how results can be maximised by targeting the priority
groups identified by the data mapping and stakeholder consultation.
Groups identified are: NEET (Not in Education, Employment or
Training) young people (including those who are SEND and
care-experienced), older adults, migrants and refugees, unpaid
carers, adults with multiple complex needs, low skilled adults and
those with mental and physical health needs.
2.3
The GSWP identifies system changes that could support greater
economic activity, such as improved coordination of training,
inclusive employment advice for SMEs, leveraging social value to
yield employment and learning outcomes, and working closely with
primary care settings to create referral pathways between GP
surgeries and employment support provision.
2.4
The GSWP sets out 6 ambitions:
Ambition 1:
Build an education,
skills and employment infrastructure to achieve the Get Sussex
Working Plan.
Ambition 2:
Address needs of
diverse resident groups to increase economic
activity.
Ambition
3: Develop a
joined-up approach with employers to inclusive workforce
development, training and careers progression.
Ambition 4:
Respond to diverse
place-based needs to increase economic activity, health and
wellbeing outcomes.
Ambition 5:
Embed careers,
employment and skills at the heart of decision-making to facilitate
a systems-wide approach.
Ambition
6: Develop and
upskill our workforce to boost employment and growth
2.5
The accompanying Implementation Plan identifies short, medium and
long-term actions to support each of the ambitions and 7 Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) to enable progress to be
measured.
2.6
The GSWP outlines proposed governance and oversight, advocating
quarterly monitoring and reporting by the current GSW Partnership
Group; and in East Sussex, ongoing input and scrutiny by the Skills
and Employment East Sussex Board.
Mapping
provision
2.7
The GSWP maps current provision in the Employment and Skills arena
across Sussex, identifying areas of best practice that can be built
on, ongoing core delivery, as well as gaps such as a lack of
employment support programmes for NEET young people or funding for
‘stepping stone’ programmes for those furthest from
accessing work or learning.
Risk and/or
liability for East Sussex County Council
2.8
The GSWP is developed
and led by the 3 local authorities but will transition to the
proposed MCCA when it is ready to oversee it. Targets are set by
the GSW Partnership Group and the Implementation plan is a live
document which can change.
2.9
Actions
focus on delivering programmes with known funding (e.g. Connect to
Work) or on activities where there is no cost (e.g. sharing best
practice in employer engagement). Where aspirational activities
and/or asks for the longer term are included, these are recorded as
‘subject to funding’ in the Implementation Plan, as
instructed by the Minister for Employment, with no obligation to
deliver them unless funds are forthcoming.
2.10
The Plan
states that delivery towards the identified KPIs is subject to
funding and subject to a policy and economic environment that is
conducive to the delivery of the identified actions.
2.11
The
Government has not provided any requirements for reporting to the
DWP on progress against the GSWP, however, has advocated that it is
for the Local Authority to agree reporting and monitoring
processes.
3
Conclusion and
Reasons for Recommendations
3.1
The Get Sussex Working Plan (the Plan) provides a
robust, evidence-based framework to address employment and skills
challenges across Sussex. It supports inclusive growth, aligns with
national policy, and prepares the region for future governance and
funding changes.
3.2
The Lead Member is
therefore recommended to endorse the Get Sussex Working
Plan as a strategic framework for employment, health and skills
integration across Sussex and to agree the continuation of the GSW
Partnership Group to oversee the Implementation Plan until
governance structures are confirmed via the proposed new Mayoral
Combined County Authority.
3.3
To allow for the plan
to be finalised, the Lead Member is recommended to delegate
authority to the Director of Communities Economy and Transport to
make future minor amendments to the Plan.
Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport
Contact
Officers:
Holly
Aquilina
Email:
Holly.Aquilina@eastsussex.gov.uk
and Caroline
Bragg,
Caroline.Bragg@eastsussex.gov.uk
LOCAL
MEMBERS
All members
BACKGROUND
DOCUMENTS
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