Issue - meetings

Report by the Chief Operating Officer

11.1     The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development (HR&OD) introduced the report, which provided an update to the March 2017 report.  The Committee was informed of the aspirations of the Levy to be workforce, not target, led, and the development of an approach to ‘grow our own’ to address skills shortages and ‘hard to recruit’ areas.   

11.2     The Head of HR&OD tabled an addendum, which set out the values of the training packages that ESCC can draw down, but highlighted that the higher value packages, to assist the training of, for example, teachers and social workers, were still being developed.  The Council is looking to roll over some of the Levy funds to future years, to access these packages, hopefully in 2019, but the Head of HR&OD confirmed that the Government would recoup any Levy funds that remained unspent after two years.  

11.3     The Committee discussed the appropriateness of the name “Apprenticeship Levy”.  It was confirmed that what was being developed was an in-work training scheme, to assist both entry-level jobs and career progression, up to and including leadership and management training.    It was confirmed that the core corporate levy costs have been provided for through the RPPR process, but that schools posed more of a risk, as the levy costs must be passed on to them in accordance with DfE guidance.  The Head of HR&OD reported on the innovative ways schools are collaborating and pooling their share of the Levy, to achieve the best outcomes.

11.4     The Committee RESOLVED to note the progress made implementing the Apprenticeship Levy and the proposed focus of work for the next 18 months.

Report by the Chief Operating Officer

59.1     The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development (HR & OD) introduced the report which provides an update to the information that was presented to the Audit Best Value and Community Services (ABVCS) RPPR Board in December. Since that time the Council has received more detailed guidance. A steering group for apprenticeship delivery has been established and a manager has been appointed to co-ordinate the work on the implementation of the Levy. There are a number of strands to the work:

·          Communications and engagement with frontline managers and staff on the Levy and the benefits and value it will bring;

·          A procurement strand, linked to Orbis and West Sussex County Council, to use the ‘dynamic purchasing system’ to procure apprenticeship training.

·          Workforce mapping which examines which current training across ESCC can be converted into an apprenticeship standard, and which posts would be suitable for apprenticeship recruitment. The workforce mapping has nearly been completed.

59.2     It should be noted that the responsibility for the delivery and management of apprenticeships lies with departments, and the central team will work through them. The target number of apprenticeships for ESCC staff is 102 apprenticeships, and 137 apprenticeships for East Sussex maintained schools.

59.3     The performance against these targets will be measured by ‘having regard’ to the targets, which includes evidence of having the right approach and processes in place to deliver apprenticeships. The performance against targets will not have an impact on finances. The Government has recognised that where organisations have large numbers of part time posts, this will have an impact on the number of apprenticeships that it will be possible to provide.

59.4     The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development outlined that the central team has done the workforce mapping on behalf of schools. Work is ongoing to examine the use of apprenticeships for teaching, but the training framework will not be available until September 2018. Work is also being undertaken on the social work programme with universities on Level 6 qualification training, but this again will not be available until September 2018.

59.5     The Committee discussed the implementation of the Apprenticeship Levy and a summary of the points raised is given below.

Impact on Schools

·          The Committee is concerned about the financial impact of the Levy on schools and in particular on small, one form entry, primary schools. It asked if it would be possible to return some of the pooled money as part of the school funding system, and highlighted that there is a significant impact if small schools fail, the costs of which will fall to ESCC. The Interim Chief Finance Officer responded that these are issues that can be explored in terms of how ESCC manages school finances.

·          The Committee asked if there was an emergency plan if the Levy and other financial pressures, such as the draft revised schools funding formula, threatens schools’ financial viability. The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development responded that the Children’s Services Department is aware of the financial issues for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59