Councils must be at the forefront of national efforts to reduce economic inactivity and strengthen the workforce, the LGA has said, in response to recent government initiatives.
In its final report, published last month, the Keep Britain Working review highlighted how one in five working-age adults is not working because of ill health, costing the UK the equivalent of 7 per cent of gross domestic product; and the disability employment rate, at 53 per cent, lags behind other major economies.
In response, the Government has joined forces with 60 major employers and mayoral strategic authorities, who will act as ‘Vanguards’ – early adopters developing and refining workplace health approaches and trialling new models, with the aim of establishing an evidence base for a voluntary healthy-working standard by 2029.
The LGA supports the report’s ambition to tackle economic inactivity, but has warned that its proposals “will only succeed if local government is fully involved”.
Meanwhile, the Government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper outlines a clearer role for strategic authorities, including in preventing young people from becoming ‘not in education, employment or training’.
However, it is vital that government works with councils within and outside devolution areas to ensure every community benefits from a coherent, responsive and locally driven skills offer, according to the LGA.
Cllr Tom Hunt, Chair of the LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, said: “Councils already play an essential role in bringing together a sometimes-fragmented skills offer for residents and employers.”