Employment and Skills Bulletin
National Policy Developments
UKAEA crowned apprentice team of the year (SFA)
Engineering apprentices from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) have been named the country’s apprentice team of the year.They battled off tough competition from seven other teams after proving their logistical, team building and communications skills and delivering a community project that involved volunteering with the Helen and Douglas House Hospice and taking part in a £35,000 fundraising drive. UKAEA narrowly beat HMRC Digital Newcastle into second place and HSBC who finished third. Teams from Apprenticeships Norfolk Network, Hampshire County Council, HMRC Surge and Rapid Response, IBM and QinetiQ also competed in the national finals.
News and Views
UK housebuilders warn labour shortage will hit delivery of homes (Telegraph)
A report from property firm Knight Frank has found that nearly three quarters of Britain’s housebuilders think the high cost and lack of availability of labour will hurt their ability to build homes. Of those surveyed, more than half said they were planning to recruit more skilled workers in the next three years. More than half of respondents to the poll said their businesses would be increasing the number of homes they build over the next year, with 57 per cent saying they had not seen an increase in land released for sale despite a government drive to free up more publicly owned land.
EU Referendum: Brexit could cost half a million public sector jobs, Labour figures warn (Independent)
In a statement to the Independent, over thirty Labour figures, including Ed Balls and Harriet Harman, suggest that given that the Conservative Government has chosen to cut the current deficit primarily by public sector austerity this is likely to be repeated. They point out that between 2009 and 2015, the public sector workforce fell by 969,000, while the budget deficit was reduced from £103.2bn to £40.5bn. In the case of Brexit, public sector tax receipts have been predicted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies to fall by another £40bn. The Labour figures suggest this could mean the number of public sector employees would have to fall by a further 525,000 in order to balance the books.
UK unemployment rate at lowest since 2005 (BBC News)
The UK unemployment rate has fallen to 5 per cent, its lowest since October 2005, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, which indicated the unemployment total fell to 1.67m in the February-to-April period, down 20,000 from the previous quarter. The number of people in work rose by 55,000, with the employment rate remaining at a record high of 74.2 per cent, and earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 2.3 per cent compared with last year. The number of people out of work and claiming benefits fell by just 400 in May to 746,100, although April’s figure was revised higher by 6,400 as information about those claiming out-of-work benefit under the new system of Universal Credit came in.
London renters ‘face highest eviction risk in England’ (BBC News)
Nine of the top ten “home threat hotspots” are in London, Shelter has warned, as renters in the capital face some of the highest risks of eviction in the country. Shelter named those in Enfield as being at highest risk, with one in 23 tenants there under threat of eviction in the last year. Barking and Dagenham residents were at a similar risk, while in Havering and Croydon, the figure was one in 27. Ealing, Brent, Hillingdon, Bexley and Newham also featured in the top 10, with Luton the only area on the list outside the capital
Robot called Amelia to do the job of human council workers for the first time (Telegraph)
A robot, known as Amelia, is to be employed by Enfield Council in London for public services. The artificial intelligence (AI) programme will be able to participate in thousands of conversations at once and answer in a human way, and will be used to help residents find information online and fill in forms, guiding users through a chat feature on their computer screen. Any questions Amelia cannot answer will be referred to a human colleague. The programme, designed by American company IPSoft, has never been used in the British public sector before. It is said to be 60 per cent cheaper than using a human worker, although the council has not divulged how much has been paid for the software.
Graduates to join Birmingham children’s services (BBC News)
Birmingham City Council has announced it will work with a charity to bring in graduates to its children’s services. It will join up with Frontline to train up new workers. Josh MacAlister, chief executive of Frontline, which began training and recruiting people to work with vulnerable children in 2013, said applications for the roles are set to open later in the year.
Publications
100 per cent retention of business rates: issues for consideration (HOC Communities and Local Government Committee)
In this report analysing the feasibility of proposed changes to business rates, the communities and local government committee has urged the Government not to scrap the Revenue Support Grant, which funds council activities. Without the grant, it would be difficult to incentivise councils to lower their business rates and boost growth, the committee said, because they would be more reliant on the income. Instead, the committee suggested that councils should be allowed to vary business rates according to the type of business which is paying them. The report also pointed to evidence that there is a “massive problem” with business rate appeals which has been “repeatedly ignored” by the Government, and said the impact of appeals by ratepayers threatens to dwarf the actual income from the scheme. Local authorities were found to be setting aside substantial sums of money, often for long periods of time, in case an appeal is successful. The committee suggested dealing with appeals outside the business rates retention system and funding them separately.
Bulletin provided by Kashif Mirza at LB Hounslow.