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Inclusive Economy and Culture Scrutiny Panel - Wednesday, 27th November, 2024 6.30 pm
November 27, 2024 View on council websiteSummary
This meeting of the Inclusive Economy and Culture Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to include pre-decision scrutiny of an anti-poverty strategy, a presentation about the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust, and a discussion of the council's approach to apprenticeships and supporting young people into employment.
Pre-decision scrutiny of the Anti-Poverty Strategy
The panel was scheduled to receive a presentation on the draft Greenwich Supports Strategy
. The strategy is described as our strategic plan to reduce and prevent poverty
.
The strategy is framed in the context of both local and national poverty increasing and deepening. It builds on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)'s definition of poverty1 and sets out a holistic, strategic vision to continue shaping the borough’s already substantial support offer and set future directions to mobilise responses to poverty.
The strategy is based on eight principles:
- Preventative (not reactive)
- Proportionate Universalism (not simply universal)
- Joined-up (not siloed and hard to navigate)
- Grow community power (not centralising power)
- Holistic (not linear, reductive or presenting needs)
- Enable a good life (not fix the problem and focus on what’s missing)
- Open and relationship-led (not closed and scarcity mindset)
- Develop capabilities and strength-based (not manage needs and short-term fixes)
The report pack includes the complete strategy document. The document sets out the context for the strategy and discusses the reasons for rethinking the council's existing approach. The strategy is framed around three overarching priorities:
- Lessen the impact of poverty and the chances the situation will get worse
- Prevent people falling into poverty
- Address the risk factors and root causes of poverty
The strategy document sets out the sub-priorities that fall under each of the overarching priorities and describes who in the council is responsible for delivering them. The document includes a range of potential outcomes and ways that the success of the strategy might be measured. It also includes a delivery and governance structure for the strategy.
Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust
The panel was scheduled to receive a presentation on the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust (RGHT)2 from the CEO of the RGHT, Janet Denne.
The presentation was scheduled to cover the following topics:
- The Trust's objectives for the year ahead
- The relocation of, and public access to, the Borough Archives
- Renovation and maintenance works at Charlton House
The presentation describes how the trust intends to achieve financial stability, the tenants of their buildings, how they use their buildings for venue hire, their fundraising efforts, and their public engagement programme.
The presentation describes how the Borough Archives were moved from the Woolwich Heritage Centre to the Anchorage Point Industrial Site in 2018, where they are currently stored without a reading room or public access.
It describes how an interim solution for access to the archives was devised by the council, the Greenwich Historical Society, and the RGHT.
Since May 2024: The following service has been trialled.
- The staff area at Anchorage Point was refit to allow space for up to 6 researchers
- The staff moved to a small side store area
- To allow access for researchers on 4 consecutive days a month, by appointment
- Continue to respond to email research enquiries, using volunteers
The presentation goes on to describe the shortcomings of this interim solution:
- Anchorage Point was designed as a Museum and Archive store, not for public access
- There are no facilities for the researchers, and they need to leave to eat (limited options – 10 minutes’ walk away)
- The building is not accessible for those with disabilities
- It is an industrial site, that is dark, and 10 minutes’ walk from public transport
The presentation describes how Charlton House was placed on the Historic England3 At Risk Register on 14 November 2024 because of the bad condition of the roof. The presentation sets out the recent and planned capital works, and the maintenance works that have been carried out at the site.
Employability for Young People
The agenda states that the panel was scheduled to note the council's approach to supporting young people into education, work, or training.
The report pack for this item includes a summary of the activities of Greenwich Local Labour and Business4 (GLLaB). It sets out the context of employment and skills challenges in the borough, as well as national government policy regarding apprenticeships.
It sets out how the council is encouraging and supporting SMEs to employ local young people into apprenticeship opportunities through the Greenwich Access to Apprenticeships Fund (GAAF). The GAAF is a funding pot that allows non-levy paying organisations to claim back the costs of apprenticeship training. It is funded by transferring up to 50% of the council's unspent apprenticeship levy funds.
The report pack includes an overview of the activities of the external apprenticeship steering group that is chaired by the Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, Business, Skills and Greenwich Supports, Councillor Jackie Smith. This includes the borough's first Apprenticeship Summit that was held on Monday 5 February 2024.
The report pack also describes the council's work to support its Corporate Parenting Duty in relation to apprenticeships and employment by working with Virtual Schools, Job Centre Plus, and other partners to encourage care leavers into training and employment.
It sets out how the council employs apprentices directly using the Greenwich Direct Apprenticeships (GDA) scheme, the Trainee or Career Grade posts, and CPD apprenticeships.
The report pack includes an overview of the current Adult Skills and Tailored Learning Provision provided by the council, including the activities of the Adult and Community Learning (ACL) service. It also describes a proposal to develop a new post-16 skills strategy for the borough that will:
ensure that local skills provision supports economic growth, improve productivity, tackle structural inequalities, and build community resilience.
The document describes how consultation will be undertaken as the post-16 skills strategy is developed, and the need to consider any strategy for post-16 education that is brought forward by Skills England.5
Commissioning of Future Reports
The panel was scheduled to note the following items that are scheduled for its next meeting on 16 January 2025:
- Nighttime Economy
- Woolwich Creative District
- Cabinet Member Update (Equality, Culture & Communities)
The report pack for this item includes a draft meeting schedule for the rest of the 2024/25 municipal year.
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The JRF is an independent organisation that conducts research and develops policy solutions to address poverty in the UK. ↩
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The Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust is a charity that manages a number of historic buildings and sites in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. ↩
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Historic England is a public body that champions and protects England's historic environment. It does this by listing buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens, designating conservation areas and advising on planning. ↩
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Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB) is a service provided by the Royal Borough of Greenwich that helps residents find work and training opportunities. ↩
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Skills England is a new public body that will be responsible for overseeing the skills system in England. It will be responsible for developing a national skills strategy, working with employers to identify skills needs, and funding skills training. ↩
Attendees
Documents
- 8. Commissioning of Future Reports
- Public reports pack 27th-Nov-2024 18.30 Inclusive Economy and Culture Scrutiny Panel reports pack
- 5. RGHT
- 3. Declarations of Interest other
- 3.1 Outside Body Memberships
- Agenda frontsheet 27th-Nov-2024 18.30 Inclusive Economy and Culture Scrutiny Panel agenda
- 6. Pre-decision scrutiny of the Anti-Poverty Strategy other
- 7.1 Appendix 1 Report_241021 GLLaB Programmes Duration other
- 4. Minutes - 12th September 2024 other
- 5.1 Presentation RGHT
- 6.1 Greenwich Supports strategy
- 7. Employability for Young People
- 7.2 Appendix 2 London Councils Apprenticeship_Survey_report
- 8.1 Draft Meeting Schedule