Birmingham City Council not doing enough to tackle unemployment
Oct 9 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post
Birmingham City Council is not doing as much as it could to tackle unemployment, the Audit Commission said last night.
In a study of local authority responses to worklessness, the commission said the council was “not consistently leading by example”.
The report urges the council, as Birmingham’s largest employer with a 60,000-strong workforce, to do more to offer jobs to unemployed people.
It criticises the council for being slow to appoint an assistant director of employment to focus on worklessness and of lacking a strategic approach.
The Audit Commission said: “There is good leadership from senior officers and councillors but the capacity dedicated to tackling worklessness in the council does not match its level of priority. Officer leadership is apparent but there is a reliance on a small number of capable and committed staff.
“The council is not consistently leading by example. It is not capitalising on its potential as the largest employer in the city to make a significant impact on worklessness among target groups.
“It is increasing the number of apprenticeships and workplace opportunities it offers but currently numbers are low and not in proportion to the size of the organisation. There is scope for the council to more systematically use entry level or high turnover jobs as opportunities for those furthest from the job market to gain employment experience.”
While the council is praised for concentrating on the poorest wards where unemployment is more than 25 per cent, the commission says it is too early to say whether interventions are proving to be successful.
A council spokesman said: “We take on board the Audit Commission’s findings and we are committed to a number of projects to reduce worklessness.”
Schemes being promoted include:
n Construction jobs and apprenticeships with Carillion for building the new city library.
n More than 800 unemployed people targeted for 160 jobs at the Fox and Goose Tesco development.
n More than 1,700 job placements in Birmingham for 18 to 24-year-olds paid for by the Future Jobs Fund.
The commission found that Coventry Council had a “capable, in house approach to tackling worklessness with teams well focused on the main barriers to employment”, Dudley Council’s approach was “unco-ordinated”, while Sandwell Council was praised for a “buy local” policy.
