Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 4 February 2023.

Over 100,000 people have taken the ‘lifestyle choice’ of early retirement in England’s county areas during the pandemic, contributing to hundreds of thousands of people leaving the jobs market over the last three years.

Council leaders are calling for extra powers over employment and skills to be devolved to their areas to help encourage these ‘missing’ workers back into employment as new analysis from the County Councils Network (CCN) reveals that over 320,000 more people have become economically inactive in England’s 36 county areas compared to the outbreak of Coronavirus in March 2020.

The findings come in a new CCN Analysis report, which analyses Office of National Statistics’ Annual Population Survey dataset for March 2020 and September 2022 to ascertain where, and for what reason, people have left the employment market pre and post pandemic. The analysis includes local authority type, regional and CCN member council level data.

Download the report here.

The report shows that just over 100,00 of these people are early retirees, particularly those aged between 50 and 64, which is over two-thirds of England’s entire increase in those retiring early. There has also been a sharp rise in long-term sickness in counties where 70,000 more people are now economically inactive for this reason, which is over half of the country’s increase.

The data suggests that people have made different lifestyle choices since the start of the pandemic, such as choosing to retire early during the three national lockdowns.

With over 3m people now economically inactive in county areas – one in five workers – county leaders warn that this issue is contributing to the labour crisis where there are not enough workers for the number of jobs available, hampering local growth and productivity at a time when they ‘desperately need local economies to be dynamic and thriving’.

For the first time, the CCN has analysed where in England people have left the employment market between March 2020 and September 2022:

• The number of economically inactive people in England has grown from 7m to 7.243m, largely as a result of a 12% (320,300) increase in the number of economically inactive people in England’s 36 county and rural areas – squeezing local labour supply.
• In contrast, major cities and towns across the country saw a decrease in economically inactive people, with London seeing a drop of 20,100 people and the eight largest ‘core cities’ in England which collectively saw a drop of 26,500 people. Metropolitan boroughs, which cover areas in the North and West Midlands, 17,000 fewer people becoming economically inactive.
• In total, 100,300 extra people took the lifestyle choice of early retirement in county areas compared to pre-pandemic levels, a 21% increase over the 36 months. This trend is up in all areas of England but has risen the steepest in counties – over four times the total amount of councils in London and metropolitan borough areas which are located in cities and towns in the North and West Midlands.
• Some 56% of all those who have retired early are now in county areas, up from 54% from March 2020. Approximately 1 in 25 working age adults in counties are now retired early. This compares to 1 in 35 in metropolitan boroughs and 1 in 63 in London now retired early.
• The number of people on long-term sick in county and rural areas has increased 10% – 70,000 people – significantly more than the total for the council areas covering rest of England. The bulk of the remainder of the rise in economically inactive people in counties is attributable to an increase in students (+181,800).
• The East Midlands has seen the largest increase of people become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic (+10.4% and 60,400 people), including the highest increase of early retirees (+31.3%) and the highest rise in long-term sick (+16.6). The South East had the second largest increase (+9.7% and 93,500 people) and the North West the third highest (+6.7% and 70,700 people).

The CCN says that devolved powers in skills and employment, as well as a greater influence over economic growth, is vital to addressing these issues and incentivising or enabling individuals back to work.

So far the government has agreed devolution deals with seven county areas, which have included devolved adult education budgets and powers. But with 29 county areas in England still without access to these powers, CCN is urging the government to agree build on this head of steam and agree deals with as many county areas as possible in 2023.

Cllr Tim Oliver, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said:

“The number of working age people not seeking employment has been an issue for a number of years, with this trend accelerated by the pandemic. But today’s data shows that county and rural areas have seen a dramatic rise and account for the vast majority of new ‘missing’ workers since March 2020.

“A significant proportion of this rise is attributable to an increase in students who are the workers and innovators of tomorrow. But there has also been sharp rise in the lifestyle choice of early retirement, as well as an increase in long-term sickness, taking 170,000 people out of the employment market in county areas. At a time when we desperately need our local economies to be dynamic and thriving, having a labour shortage impacts on growth and prolongs recession.

“Therefore, we need more ways to encourage early retirees back into the labour market and to support people who are on long-term sick to come back into employment. But this should be locally led; what could work in Durham could be different in Devon. The deals negotiated with seven county areas in 2022 could be transformative – and we urge the government to build on this momentum and agree further deals with as many local leaders as possible in 2023.”

 

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 2 February 2023.

Tunstall Healthcare and the County Councils Network (CCN) have today launched a brand-new report which argues that the potential of technology to support those with social care needs is growing ‘exponentially’ each year.

This new report follows  the 2021 report ‘Employing Assistive Technology in Adult Social Care’, also delivered by the CCN and Tunstall and looks into the impact of digital technology on adult social care, and the importance of implementing digital change across the care landscape.

Download the report here.

As well as transforming services, the report finds that digital transformation can hugely benefit care users, from allowing more independence to widening understanding around condition management and reducing anxiety.

Tunstall’s work with the CCN has detailed a strategic pathway to adopting digital technologies effectively into the care sector, from enabling local authorities, through to ensuring smooth delivery of care and finally, embedding the change for good.

Practical steps recommended in the report include:

• Not underestimating the time it takes to embed change.
• Thinking about what good procurement processes look like from a market perspective.
• Working in partnership with providers to deliver effective TEC and data led practice.

‘Adopting the right technology to transform social care’, written by experts from both organisations, will be unveiled to stakeholders and decision makers digital webinar today (2nd February). The event was hosted by Tunstall and the CCN, alongside Cllr Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire Council who chaired the panel and James Bullion, Executive Director of Adult Social Care Services, Norfolk, who provided a local authority perspective.

Cllr Martin Tett, Social Care Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“The adult social care sector faces many challenges, but there are effective solutions that can help to bring efficiency, ease the burden on staff and ensure targeted care for those who need it. This new report sets a precedent for implementing technological advancements within social care services and provides an informative guide for how to create lasting, positive change at a community level.”

Simon Edwards, Director of the County Councils Network, added:

“This report is the natural sibling of our previous work with Tunstall in 2021. Perhaps most importantly, this piece discusses how we get the right care to the right people,  the right devices and technology into people’s homes, and how we can support an ageing population with a stretched workforce.”

Gavin Bashar, Managing Director of Tunstall UK&I said:

“The adoption of digital technology has great potential to contribute to  the smooth running of adult social care services as we look to the new government reforms for the care sector. This new report provides a summary of some of the benefits offered by care technology as well as practical suggestions for the implementation of these changes.”

The press release issued by the County Council Network on 2 February 2023.

Today the government has unveiled its new strategy for children’s social care – the long-awaited Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy.

The plan responds to recommendations made by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which was led by Josh MacAlister.

The plan is backed by £200m over the next two years, and has a particular focus on early help and prevention, and keeping families together wherever possible. The County Councils Network had led calls for this culture shift in children’s care.

The government also announced that 12 local authorities would pilot this ‘new model’, as well as funding for a fresh foster carer recruitment drive. The plans for reform also include a new national framework for children’s social care and dashboard, which the government is now consulting on.

Last year, CCN research with Newton found that if the system was left unchecked there could be close to 100,000 children in care by the end of 2025, with local authorities spending £2.1bn more that year compared to the start of the decade.

Below CCN responds to today’s announcement.

Cllr Keith Glazier, Children’s Social Care Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“The County Councils Network has long warned that the current children’s social care system is no longer working for children, families, and local authorities. Our research last year showed that, left unchecked, the number of children in care could rise to almost 100,000 young people by the end of 2025 while councils continue to overspend their budgets. Action is desperately needed.

“Key to any reform to children’s social care is a greater focus on preventative services and more emphasis on keeping families together, where it is safe to do so. We are pleased that the government has acted on our calls and will look to pilot this new approach, alongside a renewed recruitment drive for desperately needed foster carers.

“However, the funding made available to delivers these changes falls short of what both councils and Josh MacAlister argue is required, while the pilots are only taking place in a select few areas at a time when young people across the country cannot afford to wait. We understand that the public finances are tight, but we urge government to increase the funding allocated for these reforms in line with the recommended £2.6bn by the end of 2026/27 – investing in children and young people has a significant societal benefit, and will deliver long-term savings.”