Current funding opportunities
Adult Education budget
The AEB procurement – GLA Contracts for Adult Education Services in London – is now open. The deadline for tender submissions is Friday 21 December 2018.
GLA ESF Programme 2019-2023
This procured AEB funding will be used as a match to some of London’s European Social Fund (ESF) allocation. The GLA will also shortly be launching its ESF procurement tendering process. Through the ESF allocation, the GLA expects to procure a range of skills and employment programmes for adults and young Londoners who are furthest from the labour market and those who face in-work poverty.
Jobcentre Plus: Dynamic Purchasing System for the Provision of Work Focused Activities
The Department for Work and Pensions is establishing a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) to procure Work Focused Activities in Jobcentre Plus Districts across England, including London. One of its aims is to simplify and reduce the time and cost involved for VCSE providers to bring their services to market. The maximum value of each contract called off the DPS will be limited to £500k. This is currently an open opportunity and tender response should be submitted via BravoSolution.
Latest policy and research news
London Living Wage rises to £10.55 an hour
On 5 November, the London Mayor announced the new rate for the Living Wage (LW) in the capital of £10.55 an hour. That’s a rise of 35p. The LW is independently calculated and based on what people need to live on, with over 1500 employers in the capital paying it.
New CEO at the Mayor’s Fund for London
Social mobility charity, the Mayor’s Fund for London, has appointed Kirsty McHugh as its new Chief Executive, effective 1 January 2019. Kirsty is currently Chief Executive of the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), the national membership body for providers of employability support.
Mayor’s Careers for London Action Plan published
City Hall has published the Mayor’s Careers for London Action Plan. Developed in collaboration with schools, colleges and training providers, employers, unions, universities and London boroughs, the action plan sets out: (i) The Mayor’s vision for careers provision in London; (ii) What City Hall will do to help realise this vision; (iii) The vital role that other organisations – including employers, schools, colleges and universities, but also government – must play.
UN poverty expert says UK policies inflict unnecessary misery
On 16 November, after a 12 day fact-finding mission, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, gave a damning assessment of the UK government’s record in tackling poverty, “British compassion for those who are suffering has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach”.
Work and Pensions Select Committee urges the government to think again on the sanctions regime
In the Benefit Sanctions report published by the Work and Pensions Committee, it concludes that the human cost of continuing to apply the existing regime of benefit sanctions – the “only major welfare reform this decade to have never been evaluated” – appears simply too high. The evidence that it is achieving its aims is at best mixed, and at worst showing a policy that appears “arbitrarily punitive”.
Government announces tougher rules for apprenticeship providers
The government has announced new tougher rules for providers and employers applying for and securing a place on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP). All organisations delivering apprenticeship training must be on the RoATP. One of the notable changes is that by August 2019, there will be a funding rule requirement for all subcontractors delivering apprenticeship training to be listed on the RoATP including those delivering less than £100k a year as a subcontractor.
Important dates coming up
Employment support in the Capital: Routes into work and to progress
On 12 December, the 4in10 London Child Poverty Network is hosting a half-day conference on ‘Employment support in the Capital: Routes into work and to progress’. The event will explore how employment support for those seeking to enter employment and for those seeking to progress out of low paid work can contribute to reducing child poverty in London. In particular, it will look at the role of local authorities, the voluntary sector, and the GLA can play in joint working to improve services to many of London’s disadvantaged groups.
SAVE THE DATE: London Plus official launch event at City Hall with special guests
On Thursday 31 January 2019 (4-7pm), London Plus will be officially launching at an event hosted in City Hall. More details will follow in the coming weeks, but please save the date.
Did you miss our October employment and skills newsletter? Don’t worry you can find it here.
