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3. CLES call for best practice

Call for best practice- Yorkshire Cities unemployment study

CLES Consulting is currently working on behalf of Yorkshire Cities^[1] to undertake a review of the ways in which local authorities and their partners have responded to the rise in cyclical unemployment seen as a result of the recession. The review entails examining the different approaches taken within each different City in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The aims of the review are to develop an understanding of how the cities have responded, the effectiveness of the different approaches taken and the reasons why they have been effective.

As part of the research process we are looking to supplement the information from Yorkshire and Humber by identifying projects or initiatives from across the UK which have been undertaken as a direct response to rises in unemployment which have occurred since the economic downturn began. We would like to hear about examples of:

• new activities which are directly aimed at addressing unemployment;
• new activities which have had an indirect impact on unemployment;
• existing activities which were adapted in response to rising unemployment.

We are interested in looking at activities which have been developed and delivered by local authorities in partnership with other agencies and also activities which have been developed or delivered by individual agencies including local authorities, Jobcentre Plus and the voluntary sector.

In addition to reviewing specific activities, we are also looking at how local authorities have led the strategic response to cyclical unemployment in terms of using existing partnership arrangements, establishing new partnerships, responding to government initiatives such as the Future Jobs Fund and addressing unemployment as part of wider strategic responses to the recession.

If you have any examples from your own area that you think we would be interested in, please complete the proforma above, providing a short description of the project, activity or strategic response and return it to laurasymonds@cles.org.uk. Please attach any web links or reports that you feel are relevant. If we require further information, we may contact you to discuss what you send us in more detail. The follow up contact will be conducted over the telephone and will take no longer than 30 minutes.

The deadline for responding to this call is Thursday 14th January.

^[1] Yorkshire Cities is an umbrella policy advice body supporting 9 member localities across the Yorkshire and Humber region

Call for best practice – Greater Manchester Health and Worklessness

CLES Consulting is currently leading on the Greater Manchester Health and Worklessness call for best practice. This project is being delivered on behalf of the Commission for the New Economy and the Greater Manchester Health Commission. The aim of the call for best practice is to examine the way in which health and worklessness interrelate. This includes undertaking secondary research into levels of health related worklessness across Greater Manchester over the last ten years, reviewing current government policy and examining how local authorities, the NHS and other partners are delivering policies and projects which are addressing health related worklessness. The types of activities we are reviewing include:

• support for people who have recently become ill to ensure that they can retain their employment;
• the incorporation of employment support activities within health care services such as GP surgeries and mental health day care;
• support for people who are long term incapacity benefit claimants;
• the use of employment support as a therapeutic activity.

We are also interested in reviewing how strategic policy is developed in relation to health and worklessness. For example, we are looking at the different ways in which organisations can share information and data in order to enhance the understanding of health related worklessness. Through this call for best practice we are looking for examples of innovative activities, effective partnership arrangements and examples of how projects are funded.

If you have any examples from your own area that you think we would be interested in, please complete the proforma above, providing a short description of the project, activity or strategic response and return it to laurasymonds@cles.org.uk. Please include any web links or reports that are relevant. If we require further information, we may contact you to discuss what you send us in more detail. The follow up contact will be conducted over the telephone and will take no longer than 30 minutes.

The deadline for responding to this call is Thursday 14th January.

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