Devolution will only deliver fully if it changes what people experience on the ground.
Giving local areas more control over employment support is a major opportunity, but better outcomes depend on smarter commissioning, stronger partnerships and a relentless focus on what works.
Our latest report, From Devolution to Delivery: A blended commissioning framework for effective employment support, asks how local decision-making can improve what people experience, rather than simply shift responsibility around the system.
Its recommendations are not a one-size-fits-all blueprint. They set out the foundations of good commissioning while leaving local leaders free to shape support around their communities.
At AKG, we believe good commissioning is central because services fall short when they remain fragmented, contracts ignore delivery realities, providers are involved too late, or success is measured against the wrong outcomes.
Moment of transition
We should recognise that this is a period of transition and that local capability and experience will build over time. Areas are starting from different places, so the first phase of devolved commissioning may need additional guardrails and support to enable a smooth and effective transfer of responsibility.
As local experience and capability grow, these arrangements should evolve too, allowing greater flexibility while maintaining consistency, quality and confidence in delivery.
The opportunity is huge and so is the risk
Local leaders understand the barriers people face, where opportunities lie and what employers need. The right commissioning system can turn that insight into effective support.
Without it, devolution could create a postcode lottery. Poor contracts can restrict innovation; weak collaboration can leave services disconnected, and an emphasis on process can push people’s outcomes into the background.
National consistency and local flexibility can work together. A clear framework can set expectations, share good practice and maintain accountability, while local areas decide how best to meet community needs.
Eight changes we cannot ignore:
- Set a clear standard. A national commissioning playbook would make good practice easier to understand and apply, without forcing every area to use the same model.
- Give local leaders the tools to do the job. Responsibility without capability will only lead to frustration. Local areas need the skills, resources and confidence to commission well.
- Commission for the long term: Short-term contracts can create disruption and make it harder to invest with confidence. Contract terms should provide enough certainty for services to bed in, partnerships to strengthen and providers to invest and innovate, alongside strong accountability for outcomes and continuous improvement.
- Stop treating barriers separately. People do not experience health, skills, work and personal circumstances in neat silos. Support should join those things up.
- Design contracts for the real world. Contracts need to be transparent, commercially workable and built around realistic outcomes. Providers need room to invest and innovate, rather than carry disproportionate risk.
- Involve providers earlier. Delivery problems are best tackled before a tender is published, not after a contract is signed. Open pre-procurement engagement leads to better-informed decisions.
- Share what works. Local flexibility should not mean every area starting from scratch. Good ideas and successful approaches should travel.
- Measure what matters. The number of contracts awarded or activities completed tells us very little about impact. We need to know whether people find work, stay in work and have the chance to progress.
Together, these practical changes would help commissioning work better for the people and employers it serves.
This is bigger than procurement
Commissioning may sound administrative, but employment support is about people, not paperwork. It is about people who need a route back into work, employers struggling to recruit and communities that cannot afford to waste talent.
Commissioners bring local priorities and accountability for public money; providers bring experience of what works in practice. Involving both early leads to stronger contracts, clearer expectations and services that work beyond the page.
The time for action is now
Devolution is a chance to rethink how employment support is commissioned and delivered. We should not waste it.
National and local leaders need to build capability, agree clear standards and collaborate meaningfully. Procurement should encourage innovation, while evidence should improve services rather than simply record activity.
Above all, we should keep coming back to one simple question: is this making a difference to people’s lives? If the answer is not clear, the system needs another look.
AKG’s report asks policymakers and commissioners to look beyond the structures of devolution and focus on delivery. People need routes into lasting work, employers need the right talent, and public investment must make a measurable difference.
There is now a window to get this right. National government, combined authorities, commissioners and providers must act together to make local commissioning count. By building the capability, confidence and partnerships needed to turn devolution from a structural reform into stronger services, better jobs and lasting outcomes for people, employers and communities.
