The Strategic Director, Children’s Services will provide a verbal update on the current development, priorities and work of the Health and Social Care Economic Partnership and the “One Workforce” expression of interest for funding to the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool.

                                                (Michael Jameson – 01274 434335)

The Strategic Director, Children’s Services provided a verbal update on the current development, priorities and work of the Health and Social Care Economic Partnership and the “One Workforce” expression of interest for funding to the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool.

It was reported that the Council, University of Bradford, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford District Care Foundation Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, the Clinical Commissioning Groups, and the District’s three Colleges have formed the Bradford Health and Social Care Economic Partnership.  The principle aim of the partnership was to have a District with sustainable and inclusive health economy where all children, young people and adults were supported to lead healthy lives and were educated and well-equipped to lead productive careers in the health and social care sectors.

Members were informed that a critically important and ambitious programme that the partnership had led on was the “One Workforce” successful funding submission to the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool focused on achieving the ambition of re-balancing the health and social care economy in Bradford. The Health and Social Care Sector was the biggest employer but anticipated a gap in the workforce in future which needed addressing.

It was reported that the aim of the HSCEP was to bring together the requirements for more health and social care workers, look at opportunities such as women from South Asian Communities; bring together the existing assets in Bradford, world-leading research; a strong NHS and academic provision, alongside an innovative approach to health and social care learning and development, Bradford would be able to attract those practitioners in HSC who want to work in a place where they can make a real difference and see personal progression.

Members were informed that to support the delivery the “One Workforce” programme HSCEP had successfully secured £1.15m funding from the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool.

The One Workforce Programme had three work streams:

·         Inclusive Community Recruitment – to develop a one-stop recruitment solution for the sector by “matching” individuals to employer vacancies, through the SkillsHouse provision; SkillsHouse operates employer led recruitment and development campaigns, providing pre-employment assessment and sector-relevant, bespoke training determined by assessment of an employer’s needs.

·         One Workforce Academy – the academy would bring together the planning, coordination, resource and delivery of learning and development for staff working in health and care in the District, supporting the transition towards an integrated workforce; it would enable the skills development of those supported into work by SkillsHouse and those within the health and social care workforce.

·         Bradford Health and Bradford Social Care system-wide recruitment – this would provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to recruitment across the Health and Social Care in Bradford; it would be designed to both raise the general profile of exciting careers within the sector in Bradford District but also continue to review the target specific workforce shortages.

Board Members made the following comments:

·         Great news that the HSCEP had successfully secured £1.15 m funding which was a good start to the initiative; needed to develop it further and ensure other partners add resource to it to help it develop further; needed other employers involved such as Care Homes.

·         Needed to look at how organisations could connect to the national nursing recruitment campaign.

·         Look into apprenticeship levy and how that could be better used.

·         Needed to look at ethical care charters and ensuring working conditions are amenable and making it a better experience rather than undertaking 15 minute visits; needed to promote care work and its value.

·         19% of the Bradford economy was in the health and social care sector.

·         Could consider tapping into the community development programme funding.

·         Important to include the VCS as they were the key delivery of services.

·         Needed investment and support in place to progress people from level 2 to level 3 qualifications.

·         Look at recruiting mature applicants and supporting the retention of the current workforce within the health and care system.

·         Needed to have a look at the statistics to see how the various initiatives were progressing.

·         Look at how organisations fund workforce placements; look at opportunities to offer paid work placements in partner organisations to support the One Workforce Programme.

·         Look at maximising impact by aligning the One Workforce investment with investment from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate ICS Workforce programme.

·         Should consider joint recruitment campaigns and sharing data of applicants between organisations.

·         Look into match funding from Community Led Local Development Programmes.

It was reported that the future governance arrangements needed to be reviewed for HSCEP to ensure that it has the right level of membership from partners given the critical importance of the health and social care workforce reform programme; it was fit for purpose to able to govern and be accountable for the One Workforce programme and that it was aligned to the Integrated Workforce Programme Board.

Resolved-

(1)          That a further report be presented to the Board at the November/January meeting of the Board which clarifies the governance arrangements for the One Workforce programme and provides detail of the Implementation Plan.

(2)          That the opportunities suggested for consideration by the One Workforce programme include:

·         consideration to match funding from Community Led Local Development Programmes

·       look at recruiting mature applicants and supporting the retention of the current workforce within the health and care system

·       look at joining recruitment campaigns and sharing data of applicants between organisations

·       all to investigate opportunities to offer paid work placements in their organisations to support One Workforce

·       opportunities to maximise impact by aligning the One Workforce investment with investment from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate ICS (Integrated Care System) workforce programme and other programmes by other neighbouring authorities

·         how could organisations connect to the national nursing recruitment campaign

·         apprenticeship levy and how that could be better used.

Action:           Strategic Director Children’s Services/Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing