General Needs Housing Employment Compact

Training December 2009

Why is the Compact being put in place?

Housing organisations have a unique position to engage with their tenants (and families) to encourage them to move towards employment

Raising incomes can also: - widen people’s housing choices- increase confidence and reduce isolation - improve mental health- reduce domestic violence and other forms of abuse - create safer and more stable communities - increase input into houses and flats

Costs of unemployment are felt by individuals, council tax payers, city council, and government

Unemployment in NewcastleNewcastle residents at end of 2008: 27.4% of people of working age were

economically inactive - 21.2% in the country as a whole

8.9% were unemployed - 5.7% across the whole country

Council tenants in Newcastle at Sept 09 9.9% are unemployed

Unemployment amongst social housing tenants

55% of working age social housing tenants are economically inactive – compared to 21.1% of general population (Sept 09)

Social housing tenants are 15% of working age population but 30% of workless

The worklessness rate in social housing is twice that in the owner occupied sector

People unemployed in 1994 were more than twice as likely to still be unemployed ten years later if they were social tenants

Newcastle’s Local Area Agreement

National Indicator 152: To reduce the proportion of residents of

working age who are on out-of-work benefits to 14.9% by March 2011

Baseline is 16.3% in 2007

Newcastle’s Employability Action Plan 2008-2011

Priorities are: Engagement at all stages along the pathway

– priority groups are harder-to-reach groups (including homeless), young people, lone parents, people from BME groups, and people in Incapacity Benefit

Progression sustained Holistic 1-1 support

Other drivers

Welfare reform – people will need to be able to demonstrate that they are moving towards work – or face reduced benefit

Adding value to the other work of housing providers

Building links with other agencies

Our aims 1. Developing clear progression pathways

towards employment for social housing (and supported ) residents:- engagement - training- education- employment

2. Same minimum level of help regardless of which landlord or support provider

Our aims

3. Ensure housing staff know how and where to refer residents to

4. Ensure opportunities offered within the housing sector are available to all

5. Be able to demonstrate the outcomes from the offer of help from housing providers

The client journey

ENGAGEMENT DIAGNOSTICS

Employer Involvement

EMPLOYABILITY SERVICES

JOB PLACEMENT RETENTION Pre -

engagement

Stability Phase

The offer for social housing residents

Ask all unemployed tenants in first 6 weeks if they want help to get involved in education, training or employment

Use other opportunities to introduce the idea of moving towards work

Help people to overcome barriers to work, and to develop their skills, confidence, and motivation

Make referrals to Newcastle Futures or other services Display information about access to employment and

skills provision Monitor outcomes – so we know if the approach is

helping

Our partners Tackling worklessness: Newcastle Futures –

employment support agency targeting most disadvantaged and hardest to reach, and strategic co-ordination role

Supporting people into independence: Supporting People – fulfilling government expectations

Housing providers JobCentre Plus and Connexions Welfare Rights Service