Issue - meetings

Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10

Meeting: 22/07/2020 - Council (Item 17)

Question Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10

Councillor Temperton to Councillor Brunel-Walker, Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration

 

The government has initiated the ‘Kickstart’ Scheme to create 6-month work placements for 16-24 year olds who are on Universal Credit and may be at risk of long term unemployment, a scheme to fund high quality traineeships for 16-25 year olds and new apprenticeship schemes. Obviously these need to be in place, as soon as possible. What is the Council doing to encourage all our businesses and partners to participate in these schemes?

Minutes:

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Brunel-Walker, Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration the following published question:

 

The government has initiated the ‘Kickstart’ Scheme to create 6-month work placements for 16-24 year olds who are on Universal Credit and may be at risk of long term unemployment, a scheme to fund high quality traineeships for 16-25 year olds and new apprenticeship schemes. Obviously these need to be in place, as soon as possible. What is the Council doing to encourage all our businesses and partners to participate in these schemes?

 

In response Councillor Brunel-Walker replied that the new scheme would state-funded jobs created for 16-to-24-year-olds who were currently claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.  The Kickstart scheme would see Government funding cover 100 per cent of the minimum wage for 25 hours a week in the scheme, with employers also able to top up the wage and receive a contribution towards overhead costs.

 

He reported that applications for the scheme were expected to open during the following month, with more information to follow in due course. He explained that companies who took part in the scheme would have to prove that the jobs they are making available to applicants were new.

 

He reported that the Council was starting to have conversations with the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Economic Skills Development Partnership to begin considering how to promote the scheme and ensure that as many as possible benefit from the scheme. Councillor Brunel-Walker committed to updating members when more information was available.

 

In response to a supplementary question he stated although the final guidance from Central Government on the exact details was outstanding that he anticipated that the scheme would require companies to apply and he was uncertain whether local authorities would be able to participate as employers. Councillor Brunel-Walker concluded that monitoring the scheme was key and once the methods of receiving updates was confirmed he would update Members.

 


 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk