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Policy Briefing 27 September 2010
(14 September – 27 September 2010)
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The conference season got underway in mid-September with the TUC Congress which was addressed by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, who appeared in the absence of any government minister. King used his speech to plead for patience from union members who were “entitled to be angry” in the wake of a financial crisis caused by the financial sector and policy-makers. The governor also reiterated the need to rebalance demand, restructure banking, and restore the sustainability of public finance in order to ensure a return to high growth and employment.
Next on the list was the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool. Party leader and deputy PM Nick Clegg addressed the conference with a 37-minute speech which argued that the coalition’s “liberal plural politics” would be marked by its achievements in achieving fiscal stability. Meanwhile, Vince Cable used his speech to launch an unyielding critique of the “murky world of corporate behaviour” in which “spivs and gamblers” pay themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer. On a more sanguine note, Cable did stress the importance of vocational training and apprenticeships to the new government. Although wholesale rebellion was not evident, there was conflict over the coalition’s education policy as party members voted to campaign against the Academy and Free School policies on the grounds that they risk “increasing social divisiveness and inequality”.
The Labour leadership contest finally reached its conclusion with Ed Miliband triumphing over his elder sibling David in a slender victory of 50.65% to 49.35% of the final vote. The tight nature of the decision was heavily dependent upon union backing as David Miliband proved the most popular first choice among MPs and party members. Following the election of a new leader, a new shadow cabinet must be voted in by 10 October. The decisions over cabinet posts will prove a daunting task for Ed Milband as he tries to placate former cabinet ministers and fellow leadership contenders. The appointment of the junior Miliband bodes pretty well for the sector given his proven history of involvement dating back to his role as minister for the Third Sector back in 2006.
In other news, the Telegraph leaked a Cabinet Office memo with details of the 177 public bodies to be scrapped by the coalition. Also, a survey conducted by the BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that over 9,000 public sector employees earn more than the prime minister’s salary of £142,500.
Skills
Geoff Russell, CEO of the Skills Funding Agency warned further education leaders that swift action was required to prevent institutions from becoming financially unstable. Russell spoke of two fundamental changes – public service reform and the fact that “the money is running out”. The FE sector could respond to the first of these new agendas by ensuring that learning is driven by student choice and provision is based upon robust information of local skills needs. Russell also spoke of the need for greater collaboration in both frontline and back-office functions to ensure survival in a time of reduced funding.
The National Institute for Adult Continuing Education has published its response to the government’s ongoing consultation on further education. The response stresses the need to ensure accessibility for adult learners and part-time students; the maintenance of a broad curriculum with opportunities for progression; maintenance of a diverse provider base; and responsiveness to social as well as economic needs.
The Trades Union Congress has also published its response to the government’s ongoing consultation on further education. The TUC warns that the proposed cuts to training subsidies will make lifelong learning increasingly unaffordable for unskilled workers. The submission includes figures which show that only one in ten unskilled workers receive regular training at work, whilst over ten million employees receive no training whatsoever. It also stresses the role of the 25,000 plus union learning reps in delivering skills in the workplace.
A third of jobseekers believe that they are held back by a lack of qualifications according to a recent survey of 4,064 jobseekers by the Home Learning College and Reed recruitment consultants. This has led more than half (54%) of the jobseekers to consider further study to boost their employment prospects. Other challenges faced by jobseekers included the sheer volume of candidates applying for each position, a lack of jobs in their local area, lack of experience, being too specialised and not being specialised enough.
The Confederation of British Industry has published its response to the Spending Review. The response is broad and covers a range of areas, including skills. The response argues that skills funding should focus on level 2 and below; public funding for training should be targeted at hard to reach firms; and there should be an increase in the number of employer-led apprenticeship schemes.
The Times Education Supplement has warned that colleges could face up to 80,000 job losses and see up to 800,000 student places lost in the forthcoming spending review. The Association of Colleges has briefed principals that the Government is planning cuts of 25% and 40% over four years for its adult skills budget. There are also fears that budgets could see a further cut with the Treasury removing £400 million for unemployment programmes and apprenticeships given over the last two years.
Political
The Telegraph has leaked government plans to abolish at least 177 quangos. The full list includes Capacity Builders; Commission for Rural Communities; Commission for the Compact; General Social Care Council; the General Teaching Council; the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency; and Sustainable Development Commission. Meanwhile, the list of public bodies still under review includes the Children’s Workforce Development Council; Community Development Foundation; the Equality and Human Rights Commission; Homes and Community Agency; Office for Fair Access to the Professions; Student Loans Company; and the Young People’s Learning Agency.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has outlined the revised remit for the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency following May’s decision to abolish the body. A letter addressed to the Agency illustrates its key responsibilities over the coming year in transferring its appropriate functions to the Department for Education, BIS and Ofqual. Key functions include evaluating and maintaining the quality of foundation learning and functional skills as well as support for Key Stage tests and general qualifications.
Research published by DWP on pensions has revealed that 82% of the for-profit workforce is covered by companies that provide pensions. The proportion of firms offering pension provision has fallen over the past three years, however, with the most commonly cited reasons being that the organisation was too small (36%); provision was too costly (15%); or staff did not want it (13%).
The Royal Mail is set to distribute at least 10% of its shares to its employees. Under proposals the Post Office will not be sold but Royal Mail will be opened up to private investment and “commercial discipline”. This follows the recommendations of a recent report on how the mail service may modernise to suit the digital age.
The government’s proposed reform of welfare services, the Work Programme, has been opened up to online discussion. Topics for discussion include, giving providers freedom to personalise support; paying providers by outcomes; paying more for people who require the most support; and moving customers onto the Work Programme.
Applications are now open for generalist volunteers to work at the London 2012 Olympics. The games will require a total of 70,000 volunteers covering such areas as welcoming, checking tickets, and stewarding events.
Following consultation, the government has changed the way local areas quantify the number of homeless people to more accurately assess the scale of the problem and give councils and charities more responsibility. All local authorities will now be expected to publish figures but will be able to develop ways of measuring this with the local VCS. New guidance is available here.
The Government has set out a new vision for the health of children and young people, “Achieving Equity and Excellence for Children”. The vision has a focus on personalised services, availability of age-specific information, the centrality of children and young people to the design and delivery of services, and improvements measured by outcomes. The vision follows the publication of a report by Professor Ian Kennedy which advocates for greater investment in early years healthcare.
The voluntary sector
Compact Voice has opened consultation on a renewed Compact which will aim to be more accountable and effective. The renewed document will aim to be easier to use and understand, aligned to emerging policy priorities, and able to deliver better partnerships. A draft text has been prepared by Compact Voice and The Office for Civil Society.
The Chartered Management Institute and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development have found charities “woefully under-prepared” for the impact of an ageing workforce. The report, “Managing an Ageing Workforce”, based on 128 responses from not-for-profit sector leaders, found that only 15% of managers of not-for-profit groups consider their organisations well prepared to cope with an ageing workforce and that board-level recognition of such issues is non-existent among 39% of organisations.
A guide published by the third sector consultancy, the Guild, suggests that many charities do not have the resources to carry out complex impact measurements, such as a social return on investment, and should instead use simpler tools or pick and mix a range of practical tools.
The Impact Coalition have published a manifesto which aims to improve the levels of accountability and transparency across the voluntary sector. The manifesto argues that charities should strive to measure and communicate their impact in order to generate greater trust among stakeholders; increase understanding of what the organisation does and how it achieves it; drive performance; and motivate staff.
Think tanks and research
A report published by the 2020 Public Services Trust, a project based at the Royal Society of Arts, has called for “a new culture of democratic participation and social responsibility” in which citizens are increasingly expected to deliver their own services. According to the report, the roll-out of measures such as public service cooperatives and neighbourhood commissioning of services will help relieve some of the pressures associated with fiscal restraint and increased demand on public services. Such reforms, however, will prove unsustainable without initial investment and greater transparency of information.
A report recently published by the Institute for Public Policy Research argues that despite a promised devolution of power, the Coalition government’s proposed Work Programme does nothing to change one of the most highly centralised welfare systems in the world. The report suggests that power will be placed in the hands of a few large providers and will stifle the fine-grained local knowledge and intelligence needed for a successful welfare programme.
This month’s Labour Force Survey has uncovered a rise in employment but a flatlining of benefit claimants. The survey shows that whilst unemployment has risen 286,000 (0.4%), the rate of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance has remained stable (4.5%).