Developing a locally led response to tackling economic inactivity

How can we get more people in Hertfordshire back into work was the exam question put to an expert panel in the first of three Hertfordshire Futures debates designed to grow the economy and widen opportunities.    

The debate broadcast live on Thursday 29 January brought together voices from across health, business and local government to help break down barriers to employment and ensure more people can make meaningful contributions to society.  The series of online forums are the last phase of public engagement and will feed into the consultation draft of Hertfordshire’s Economic Strategy.

In opening the debate, Media Club presenter Matt Deegan outlined the scale of the problem. Across the UK there are 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness with one in eight young people not in education, employment or training and nine million adults lacking in basic skills. Behind each statistic is an individual tragedy, particularly for the young, and the rise in worklessness has huge societal consequences.

Inactivity rates spiked during the pandemic, but they have remained high subsequently. The UK remains an outlier as it is the only major economy that has seen its employment rate fall over the last five years, driven predominantly by a rise in the number of people out of work due to long-term ill health. At the same time, in-work poverty has become far more prevalent as the incidence of low pay employment has grown.

There are multiple other reasons behind the rise in worklessness. The number of young people (aged 16-24) not in education, employment or training (NEET) has increased since the end of the pandemic. This reflects the rise in youth unemployment, and an increase in mental health issues. Other factors include an ageing population facing health issues, with more older workers choosing to leave the workforce early due to a range of factors. This situation is further compounded by the increase in people claiming health-related benefits.

In Hertfordshire 18.3% of people aged 16-64 are economically inactive, which is slightly lower than the national rate of 22%, but this rate does vary from district to district. The incidence of ‘long term sick’ among those who are economically inactive is slightly lower in Hertfordshire than across England, but worryingly this rate appears to be growing faster than the UK as a whole.

In November, the Government published the Get Britain Working White Paper aimed at getting to grips with this key barrier to UK growth. It outlined a new approach to skills, health, welfare and local support, and set out a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. The White Paper also called for local responses and solutions to improve outcomes at a local level.

This is where the Get Hertfordshire Working panel came in to increase understanding about the root causes of economic inactivity in order to start to develop an integrated approach to work, health and skills support.

Sarah Perman, Director, Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council, said the pandemic had in many ways ‘thrown a lot of things in the air’ and challenged our ways of working and that we needed to take a more ambitious approach to problem-solving. She also acknowledged that there was a lot more to be done to understand the fears, concerns and aspirations of those under the broad economically inactive umbrella.

Michael Wood, Head of Health Economic Partnerships, NHS Confederation, said that the NHS was both part of the problem and the solution with people on waiting lists not able to work and the challenges of operational delivery getting in the way of taking a more holistic approach to health. But he stressed the potential of the NHS as a good employer making a difference.

All panellists acknowledged that tackling worklessness called for a more joined-up, multi-agency approach which intertwined a lot of other health, work and skills strategies.

The White Paper also set out significant reforms to Jobcentre Plus with a renewed focus on local engagement and enhanced relationships with employers to better meet their recruitment needs and reduce reliance on foreign workers. Tilini Sharland, Service Leader for Beds and Herts District, Department for Work and Pensions, welcomed this move to develop a more local and collective response to this live issue and said it was also a time to get ‘excited’ about greater partnership working.

Claire Dicks, UK Lead Entity & Head of Local Community Engagement, MBDA, set out some of the work they as a large local employer are doing to support those facing barriers to employment into work and the importance of ‘value propositions’ in attracting and retaining staff. Claire also stressed the importance of speaking with ‘one voice’ to Government to tackle this issue.

Cllr Richard Roberts, Leader, Hertfordshire County Council, stressed the key role that businesses play in growing the economy and that with so many globally significant sectors locally and a high performing economy, Hertfordshire was well placed to deliver. He also applauded the work that local FE colleges are doing to widen access to high value jobs by providing specialist training. Richard stressed the wider barriers to growth locally such as providing the good quality education, jobs, homes and infrastructure needed to keep the economy moving.

With just 60 minutes on the clock, this debate clearly ignited an important conversation. The remaining two webinars will focus on how we can grow the economy more sustainably and ensure it is future-proofed for a more digital age. The full series will be available to view on demand and will also be a key part of the evidence base in developing a new Economic Strategy.

View the recording here: