Scottish Government Debate: Scotland’s Future Employability Services

Introduction

First, SCVO once again calls for immediate devolution of powers over supporting people into jobs agreed by the Smith Commission to Holyrood and the commencement of a wider debate about how employment and employability support should be shaped in Scotland. As outlined by the Expert Working Group on Welfare, there are opportunities for Scotland to create more holistic support and a different approach to employability that is person-centred, appreciates individual circumstances and is based upon what we know works to support people into employment [i]. When it comes to the development of any new employability services, SCVO considers that the third sector and those people affected or with experience of unemployment and employability support, must be central in shaping the new programmes. In addition, work to take forward the new powers over employment support must take account of the nature of the Scottish labour market and indeed regional variation within this. Part of this is about appreciating the cyclical nature of employment due to its relationship to the health of national (and local) economy. SCVO considers it key that any new employability services are not tied into a sanctions regime due to the already observed counterproductive nature of benefit changes, cuts and increasingly stringent jobseeker conditionality[ii].  Increased stress, poorer health and just a day to day struggle to survive mean that for many, getting back into work or dreams of a decent job seem to be very distant.  As long as the sanctions regime remains, as people face absolute crisis when benefits are cut or stopped, they are at real risk of being pushed further away from the job market and the effectiveness of support programmes is limited. SCVO appreciates that the detail within the draft clauses and the outcome of the General Election will be important in shaping what the new powers look like and the flexibility which the Scottish Government might have to reimagine and reinvigorate employability support in Scotland. However, we believe there are some key principles around which any new programme of support ought to be designed.

Principles

First, if tackling inequality and creating a socially-just Scotland is indeed the primary purpose of the Scottish Government’s programme, then this must drive the planning of all employability/employment support. For example, current programmes can serve to exacerbate pre-existing gender inequality and the support for carers seeking to maintain work or to find work again is limited[iii]. For those who have additional barriers to employment, e.g. people with disabilities, there are significant structural and societal challenges in entering and progressing within the labour market.  The current debate on childcare, whilst welcome, does not take account of the need of parents with disabled children[iv]. Second, SCVO calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that its approach to employability and other policy areas is truly person-centred, appreciating that an individual is never just ‘a jobseeker’, or ‘young’. For any new employability service, the ability for each individual to achieve, prosper and participate must be the overarching goal – moving us far from the current profit-driven, punitive approach to employment programmes. In addition, when the new powers on employment support are devolved, we urge Ministers to ensure that those likely to be affected by changes and who already have experience of employability programmes (be these mandated national schemes or third sector services) are at the heart of shaping how services are designed and delivered. Lastly, policy and delivery cohesion are essential if we are to ever achieve the more equal Scotland we all seek. It is vital that we do not look at employment and employability in isolation. Individuals have differing needs, including education, health, housing, that can affect their employment. Sometimes, intentionally or not, national and local government policies in these areas and others can make it difficult for people to find work. For example, cuts in care packages can lead to carers having to give up employment and becoming dependent on benefits. We must take stock of how current approaches and programmes work and of research such as “Ties that Bind” which show the sometimes negative impact of public services on people’s lives[v].  This quote from Carers UK “Caring and Family Finance” survey[vi] illustrates this point: “I gave up work thinking that I would be able to return within a year or two years, once I got my daughter the support she needed. Little did I know how poor local services were and I am still caring years later.”

Building on What Works

SCVO believes that any new employability services ought to be based upon what we know works, with consideration given to the expansion of pre-existing, successful schemes. The third sector is already providing employability support across Scotland through successful programmes. SCVO believes that the sector has the drive; the vision and the ability to create a supportive, empowering environment supporting people making their journey back into work or into their first job. SCVO and the third sector  has a number of tried and tested approaches in which the third sector successfully assists people into, or back into employment. For example: Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) provides a paid job for young people in the third sector. CJS ensures that young people are supported in the round and has proved to be a successful way of supporting young people into work, education or volunteering. Since it began CJS has given 5,871 paid opportunities with nearly 600 different third sector employers across Scotland. These opportunities are mutually beneficial, as the individual receives ‘real life’ employment experience, linked with on-the-job training and development. In return, the third sector receives increased staffing capacity to achieve its aims and objectives. CJS has demonstrated its ability to move high numbers of disadvantaged young people into positive destinations. The latest Phase 3 performance figures show that of the approximately 1,200 leavers with a known destination, 54.5% have achieved an employment outcome, with a further 8.4% entering education and 3.9% engaged in volunteering. Through our CJS work we know that particular groups, such as young offenders, care leavers and those with disabilities or long term health conditions require additional support in finding and sustaining appropriate work. Consequently SCVO has worked with a range of partners to deliver wraparound support for these groups. This work is also identifying wider policy challenges which affect groups such as ex-offenders – for example, difficulty in accessing the Scottish Welfare Fund, establishing a home and other issues - which can prevent a successful transition into the labour market. Opportunities to expand CJS and in light of new powers coming to Scotland to widen out the model to offer a CJS- style jobs promise to all who could benefit would ensure a wider range of support – based on real world jobs – to people looking to get into or back into work.

Conclusion

The experience of the sector and its work in the frontline, along with a strong desire to see a more stable and supportive social security safety net for people, have been partly behind a strong call to see further powers over benefits transferred to the Scottish Parliament.  We again call for devolution of all welfare powers, including control over conditionality. Nevertheless, there are opportunities to reimagine employability support with the planned transfer of powers. The third sector needs to be involved at the earliest stages in rethinking how the Work Programme and Work Choices budgets for Scotland should be allocated in anticipation of transfer of these powers and resources from the UK Government. There now appears to be a consensus that the Work Programme does not work and simply changing the level at which it is managed, without changing its shape or nature, to Scotland will not do. However, the same is true of the argument that it should be simply devolved to local authorities. Rather, it is the approach that needs to change. We need to give people a real choice and meaningful control over their support. This requires accommodating different needs, with sufficient flexibility and specialist input as required – an approach already pioneered by the third sector.

References

[i] Fair, Personal, Simple – Expert Working Group on Welfare 2014 [ii] SCVO briefing, Scottish Parliament welfare debate 2014 [iii] Engender – presentation to SCVO event on welfare, March 2015 [iv] http://www.cafamily.org.uk/news-and-media/extra-childcare-support-for-families/ [v] http://www.quarriers.org.uk/resource/news/ties-that-bind/ [vi] http://www.carersuk.org/36-for-professionals/report/138-caring-family-finances-inquiry

Contacts

Kate Wane/Lynn Williams Policy Officers kathryn.wane@scvo.scot or lynn.williams@scvo.scot Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB Web: www.scvo.scot

About Us

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national body representing the third sector.There are over 45,000 voluntary organisations in Scotland involving around 137,000 paid staff and approximately 1.2 million volunteers. The sector manages an income of £4.4 billion. SCVO works in partnership with the third sector in Scotland to advance our shared values and interests. We have over 1300 members who range from individuals and grassroots groups, to Scotland-wide organisations and intermediary bodies. As the only inclusive representative umbrella organisation for the sector SCVO:

• has the largest Scotland-wide membership from the sector – our 1300 members include charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes
• our governance and membership structures are democratic and accountable - with an elected board and policy committee from the sector, we are managed by the sector, for the sector
• brings together organisations and networks connecting across the whole of Scotland

SCVO works to support people to take voluntary action to help themselves and others, and to bring about social change. Our policy is determined by a policy committee elected by our members. Further details about SCVO can be found at www.scvo.scot.