URL: https://westsussex.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2193

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills (Cllr Garry Wall)

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: Support for employment and skills is an important issue for the County Council, and for residents, businesses, and the wider West Sussex economy.  This is reflected in Our Council Plan and in the draft West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025 – 2035. West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has been invited by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to oversee a nationally funded Connect to Work programme as part of the Get Britain Working Strategy. Connect to Work is for the economically inactive population with barriers to accessing work, and for residents who are in work but are likely to fall out of work without additional support. Connect to Work is being delivered across England and Wales, through `Delivery Areas` including ‘West Sussex and Brighton’ made up of the West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) geographies. The Delivery Area Plan will be approved by the DWP. It is expected delivery will take place in our area from September 2025 to March 2030. A funding agreement will be signed between the DWP and the County Council as the accountable body for the Delivery Area. Separate agreements will be signed between WSCC as accountable body and delivery partners including BHCC and the Districts and Boroughs to ensure compliance. The West Sussex target set by DWP is to work with 900 participants per year at peak, likely to be in years three and four of the five-year programme.  The total funding for West Sussex across the five years of the programme is not yet confirmed but is estimated at £8.5 million for programme delivery, with additional funding to perform the accountable body role for the whole Delivery Area. The Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills will be asked to approve the County Council’s role in the initiative, and to delegate to the interim Executive Director of Place Services the signing of a grant agreement between the County Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Content: Support for employment and skills is an important issue for the County Council, and for residents, businesses, and the wider West Sussex economy.  This is reflected in Our Council Plan and in the draft West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025 – 2035. West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has been invited by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to oversee a nationally funded Connect to Work programme as part of the Get Britain Working Strategy. Connect to Work is for the economically inactive population with barriers to accessing work, and for residents who are in work but are likely to fall out of work without additional support. Connect to Work is being delivered across England and Wales, through `Delivery Areas` including ‘West Sussex and Brighton’ made up of the West Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) geographies. The Delivery Area Plan will be approved by the DWP. It is expected delivery will take place in our area from September 2025 to March 2030. A funding agreement will be signed between the DWP and the County Council as the accountable body for the Delivery Area. Separate agreements will be signed between WSCC as accountable body and delivery partners including BHCC and the Districts and Boroughs to ensure compliance. The West Sussex target set by DWP is to work with 900 participants per year at peak, likely to be in years three and four of the five-year programme.  The total funding for West Sussex across the five years of the programme is not yet confirmed but is estimated at £8.5 million for programme delivery, with additional funding to perform the accountable body role for the whole Delivery Area. The Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills will be asked to approve the County Council’s role in the initiative, and to delegate to the interim Executive Director of Place Services the signing of a grant agreement between the County Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills has:   (1)         Approved the establishment of the Connect to Work Programme, in accordance with Department for Work and Pensions guidance and determination of the Delivery Area as West Sussex and Brighton & Hove.   (2)         Delegated to the Interim Executive Director of Place Services, in consultation with legal services, the signing of a Connect to Work Grant Agreement between West Sussex County Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The agreement will confirm the County Council as the accountable body overseeing the implementation of the Delivery Plan covering West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. None

Date of Decision: June 3, 2025