Manchester Art Gallery with Angela Harrington, Director of Inclusive Economy, Manchester City Council, Professor Ashwin Kumar, from Manchester Metropolitan University, Sam Mercadante, Future Commissioning Policy and Public Affairs Lead
Two events hosted by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) this week highlighted both the opportunity and the challenge of devolution: that greater local control must translate into better support for people.
At AKG, we support greater local control over employment services. Local leaders understand their communities, employers and opportunities. Our task is to combine that insight with the expertise, partnerships and practical foundations needed to help people find lasting work.
Parliament: connecting policy with delivery
At ERSA’s parliamentary drop-in, we welcomed the opportunity to speak with MPs about the challenges facing our sector and the practical steps needed to help more people into good work. And thank you to Dave Robertson MP for sponsoring the event.
ERSA’s recent publications provided a useful starting point, including Delivering Locally at National Scale and the report on providers’ experiences of Connect to Work commissioning. The discussion connected the government’s national ambitions with the realities of supporting people with health conditions and disabilities.
As one of the leading providers of Connect to Work across the country, we deliver locally shaped, personalised employment support. The success of this must be judged by whether people get the right help, move into meaningful work and sustain their progress, not simply by contracts awarded or services launched.
Manchester: support built around people
At ERSA’s ‘Devolution that Delivers’ event at Manchester Art Gallery, Elizabeth Taylor, ERSA’s Chief Executive, provided an overview of the sector and the policy challenges ahead. The discussion brought together the perspectives of local government, academia and employment support.
Angela Harrington, Director of Inclusive Economy, Manchester City Council, highlighted investment across Manchester, the role of social value in procurement and the importance of a shared framework. The discussion of neighbourhood-level support, social prescribing and the connections between health equity, work and skills reinforced a point that matters to AKG – that people do not experience their lives in organisational silos.
Someone managing a health condition while looking for work should not have to navigate a disconnected system. Health and employment services need to work. Someone managing a health condition while looking for work should not have to navigate a disconnected system. Health and employment services need to work together so that each person receives clear, personalised support without having to navigate gaps between organisations.
Professor Ashwin Kumar, from Manchester Metropolitan University, explored the changing labour market and the range of needs employment services must meet.
Representatives from employment support providers meet Dave Robertson MP at Parliament.
Local autonomy, strong partnerships and better outcomes
AKG’s From Devolution to Delivery report sets out how strong commissioning can turn local decision-making into better support. National consistency and local flexibility should reinforce each other: a clear baseline for access, quality and outcomes can give local areas the confidence to innovate while ensuring people receive the help they need.
Putting this into practice means equipping local areas with the skills, resources and tools to commission well. Building that capability will take time. Local areas are starting with different levels of experience and capacity, so the transfer of responsibility needs practical support and clear assurance.
AKG can support devolution by bringing together trusted local relationships, specialist expertise and the resources needed to launch services and adapt them as needs change. AKG makes a difference locally by building strong partnerships, well-equipped frontline teams and responsive services, ensuring funding reaches the communities it is intended to support.
Both ERSA events reinforced the message that devolution can bring employment support closer to the needs of people and their communities, but to realise that potential, local authorities, employers, commissioners and delivery partners must work together.
At AKG, we are already playing our part. We are building partnerships that turn local flexibility into better support, helping more people find meaningful work and stay in employment.
The opportunity is here, and now is the time to make devolution deliver for everyone.
