The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) Employment and Skills Board met to discuss skills and employment initiatives in the region. The board unanimously approved recommendations regarding the Care Leaver Covenant, signalling support for the Care Leaver community, and endorsed recommendations related to the devolution of the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), including strategic priorities, a strategic skills plan, and commissioning plans. The board also reviewed and supported the Skills England and Local Skills Improvement Plan, and the Get Britain Working White Paper and a Get Lincolnshire Working Plan.

Devolution of the Adult Skills Fund

The Employment Skills Board endorsed recommendations relating to the devolution of the Adult Skills Fund, which aims to equip adults with the skills needed for employment and further learning. The board endorsed the ambition, strategic priorities, draft strategic skills plan, and commissioning plan for the ASF.

A key part of the discussion focused on proposed changes to funding rules and the performance framework. Councillor Jackie Brockway, West Lindsey District Council, raised concerns about a proposal to seek a more inclusive environment, rather than segregating people out as ESOL¹, suggesting it could lead to a withdrawal of funding for that particular programme. Dame Andrea Jenkyns DBE responded, stating:

nobody's proposing removing the funding. We're just saying we want to make it as part of an inclusive literacy and numeracy funded stream. And so just as we're not going to choose, you know, it's for practitioners to choose what course someone goes on as they develop their learning journey, we're just not segregating it. Councillor Nick Worth, South Holland District Council, also voiced concerns, particularly from an agricultural perspective, about businesses being asked to fund English lessons for foreign nationals.

Despite these concerns, the board approved the recommendations, with a caveat to remove point 11.2 from the draft changes to the funding rules and performance framework.

The proposed changes to funding rules included:

• Setting a minimum contract value of £150,000 and a maximum of £1 million for procurement of non-grant funded providers. Multi-year contracts would not be awarded due to budget uncertainty.
• Creating a support fund for care leavers, providing access to up to £1,500 for accredited courses.
• Changing the eligibility of the Level 3 Award in Education and Training to allow full funding, regardless of salary, for a two-year trial period.
• Funding Great Lincolnshire residents, with employees living outside the area being funded by their own authority.
• Supporting unemployed residents in obtaining their first green cards for the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, enabling them to work in the sector.
• Adopting a residency rule requiring learners to be ordinarily resident for three years.
• Introducing a 25% cap on subcontracting for grant-funded providers.
• Ending automatic over-delivery payments, with funding increases managed through grant or contract variations.
• Collecting evidence on the impact and cost of self-directed online learning.

Care Leaver Covenant

The board agreed to commence the process of becoming a Care Leaver Covenant signatory and supported the development of an action plan for care leavers through the authority’s employment and skills programmes. Councillor Brockway asked who would be responsible for the action plan and what the district involvement would be.

Skills England and Local Skills Improvement Plan

The board noted the purpose of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), supported the rationale for the scope of the next LSIP, and supported engagement with employers when the research phase of the LSIP starts later this year. Councillor Jackson was interested in what would be done to address any potential gaps or underrepresented groups. It was noted that the combined authority has a role in co-designing the plan. Councillor Philip Jackson, North East Lincolnshire Council, raised concerns about the lack of mention of ports and logistics in paragraph eight of the Skills England and Local Skills Improvement Plan.

Get Britain Working White Paper and a Get Lincolnshire Working Plan

The board noted the progress to date in convening a core partnership and creating a Get Lincolnshire Working plan and approved the Get Lincolnshire Working plan, subject to any minor amendments approved by the Chief Operating Officer and the Mayor. Councillor Nick Worth asked how the different organisations would be coordinated without causing too much duplication. Councillor Brockway requested that there be a greater link with the MCA about the work that has been done by the district.