Job well done?

Can the government’s ‘radical’ welfare reforms succeed where others have failed? Matthew Jackson discovers alternative ideas in Bristol

The economy of the UK is in a state of flux. Growth and economic development has stalled and physical and social regeneration activity has virtually drawn to a close through wide-ranging cuts to public sector finances. Business instability and the recession has seen month on month increases in claims of jobseeker’s allowance and other out of work benefits.

While the government has signalled its intent to reform the welfare system and has introduced the Single Work Programme, it is still the long-term unemployed and ‘workless’ who face the greatest barriers to the workplace.

Things like lack of affordable childcare, financial exclusion and poor connectivity exacerbate the challenges that many people face, making worklessness a multiple rather than single characteristic of poverty and deprivation.

What is needed is a greater understanding of the barriers facing the workless in making that journey to employment; a more personalised offer than that presented currently by employment brokers; and innovative, creative and risk-taking ideas for tackling worklessness which challenge the very notion of austerity.

Over the course of the last three months, the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) has been working in partnership with Bristol Council to try to understand how the above aspirations can be realised. Using the Future City Game, an innovative place-visioning tool, as a basis we have sought to create precisely the ideas that will shape employment intervention in the future.

THE LOCAL CONTEXT

Comparing Bristol to the wider southwest, it is clear there are significant challenges around worklessness. As of May 2010, 12.3% of the working age population of Bristol claimed one of the three core out of work benefits of jobseeker’s allowance, incapacity benefit and employment and income support. This compares to a southwest average of 9.5%.

Worklessness is particularly prevalent in certain wards with 28.3%, 26.5% and 21.4% of the working age populations of Lawrence Hill, Filwood and Whitchurch Park respectively claiming out of work benefits.

In October of this year, 3.4% of the working age population of Bristol were claimants of jobseeker’s allowance, effectively a doubling from the July 2008 figure of 1.7%.

In the lead up to the Future City Game in Bristol, CLES undertook a series of focus groups to understand some of the key barriers to employment for specific groups including people with disabilities and lone parents. They included employers’ perceptions, lack of affordable childcare, poor connectivity and the benefits system.

HOW THE GAME UNFOLDED

The Future City Game was played in Bristol over two days in November as part of a wider project being undertaken across the UK as part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

It brought together employment strategists from the council, Jobcentre Plus and other employment agencies, voluntary and community sector employment brokers, and people currently unemployed from a range of backgrounds including single parents and individuals with disabilities.

The game involves ten steps of activity, which include identifying global challenges creating perspectives for a city, creating ideas to tackle worklessness, testing and then presenting those ideas, and finally voting for a winner.

Ideas are assessed against seven criteria and it’s crucial that each one is fun, futuristic and, importantly, realistic. In Bristol the aim was to create the best idea to tackle worklessness in the city. Players were split into four teams and more than 40 ideas were created. From that the teams whittled all them down to come up with their final proposals:

1. BUILD YOUR OWN VILLAGE

The ‘winning’ idea was for the development of Compass Village North, an eco-village built, serviced and lived in by unemployed people. The village would be home to some 2,000 people with sustainability achieved through the growth of local food and the development of new enterprise. The village would be built on land previously allocated for development and would include full consultation with the wider community.

2. THE EMPLOYMENT ‘APP’

All the proposals put forward merited further investigation. Another team outlined an idea for an application for a mobile phone called Bristol Connect, which alerted unemployed people of potential job opportunities in their locality. The ‘app’ would alert individuals to opportunities based upon their skills set, previous employment, needs around childcare, and the locality in which they live. Working in partnership with a mobile phone provider, individuals would be provided with the ‘app’ upon signing on to work-related benefit.

3. NEIGHBOURHOOD HUBS

A third idea involved a series of neighbourhood hubs across Bristol. The hubs would be run by voluntary and community sector organisations and would provide not only a range of activities to support people into work, such as training, but also facilities which overcome the barriers to work, such as an on-site crèche. The hubs would be linked to others across the city, providing connectivity between communities.

4. MENTORING NETWORK

The final proposal was entitled Bridging Bristol, a scheme whereby unemployed people would be supported back into employment via a network of mentors who would help them on their journey into work. The mentors would also put their mentee in touch with a network of volunteers in the city who would be able to signpost them towards relevant opportunities, such as training courses.

NEXT STEPS

The council and its partners plan to draw upon the outcomes of the game as they set about joining up the delivery of available provision. It’s certainly given the council food for thought. As David Sanderson, coordinator for employment and skills, said afterwards: ‘The game provided all involved with a great buzz. Now more than ever the local response to worklessness has to be thoroughly thought through and credible.’

What was clear from these ideas is that a catch all, nationally led and personal adviser approach to tackling worklessness does not work. What we need is the adaptability to adopt flexible ideas that reflect local circumstances.

• The Future City Game was developed by CLES with the British Council and Urbis. To find out more go to newstartmag.co.uk/information/100158/104934/future_city_game

Gareth Brown pores over the detail of the government’s welfare reforms