The delivery of support aimed at helping people into employment should be devolved to groups of local authorities, MPs have said.
A new report from the Work and Pensions Committee has called for calls for more employment support to help address economic inactivity.
It said there should be more focus on measures to help young people, the over 50s and people with disabilities and long-term health conditions find and stay in work.
Among its recommendations, the committee proposed devolving support to groups of local authorities.
This would mean that the delivery of employment support benefits from local knowledge and expertise. It would also mean that help is better tailored to the individual and will meet local vacancy needs.
Responding to the report, Cllr Kevin Bentley, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) People and Places Board, said: ‘As this report recognises, each area has its own unique labour market including a mix of jobs, qualification levels, unemployment and vacancies, therefore it makes sense to devolve responsibilities for addressing these to local authorities.
‘We need to move away from a top-down, centralised approach. Given the right powers and resources over employment and skills funding for every place, councils could build on their track record of helping to get people back into work – including those who are furthest from the jobs market – and plugging growing skills gaps.’
