Purpose

Support for employment and skills is an important issue for the
County Council, and for residents, businesses, and the wider West
Sussex economy.  This is reflected in

Our Council Plan and in the draft
West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025 – 2035.
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has been invited by the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to oversee a nationally
funded Connect to Work programme as part of the Get Britain Working
Strategy. Connect to Work is for the economically inactive
population with barriers to accessing work, and for residents who
are in work but are likely to fall out of work without additional
support.
Connect to Work is being delivered across England and Wales,
through `Delivery Areas` including ‘West Sussex and
Brighton’ made up of the West Sussex County Council and
Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) geographies. The Delivery
Area Plan will be approved by the DWP. It is expected delivery will
take place in our area from September 2025 to March
2030.
A
funding agreement will be signed between the DWP and the County
Council as the accountable body for the Delivery Area. Separate
agreements will be signed between WSCC as accountable body and
delivery partners including BHCC and the Districts and Boroughs to
ensure compliance.
The West Sussex target set by DWP is to work with 900
participants per year at peak, likely to be in years three and four
of the five-year programme.  The total
funding for West Sussex across the five years of the programme is
not yet confirmed but is estimated at £8.5 million for
programme delivery, with additional funding to perform the
accountable body role for the whole Delivery Area.
The Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills will be asked to
approve the County Council’s role in the initiative, and to
delegate to the interim Executive Director of Place Services the
signing of a grant agreement between the County Council and the
Department for Work and Pensions.

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills
has:
 
(1)        
Approved the establishment of the Connect to Work Programme, in
accordance with Department for Work and Pensions guidance and
determination of the Delivery Area as West Sussex and Brighton
& Hove.

 
(2)        
Delegated to the Interim Executive Director of Place Services, in
consultation with legal services, the signing of a Connect to Work
Grant Agreement between West Sussex County Council and the
Department for Work and Pensions. The agreement will confirm the
County Council as the accountable body overseeing the
implementation of the Delivery Plan covering West Sussex and
Brighton & Hove.