City Deal for Reading and Central Berkshire City Region

Below is a press release from Reading Borough Council with the potentially good news in being able to help shape the job opportunities for young people living in the Reading area. Their are nearly a 1.000 young people, 8.9% not in Education, Employment and Training in Reading, this is steep rise from 2010-2011 due to the ongoing recession. Reading has to unite to support young people, that means the public sector, business and the voluntary working together to assist young people obtain qualifications and training that will launch their careers.

City Deal for Reading and Central Berkshire City Region

19/02/2013
Reading Borough Council Press Release

Reading was handed a major vote of confidence today (Feb 19) after it was announced as one of just 20 areas in the country to have been chosen to take forward their City Deal bid.

So-called ‘City Deals’ are special arrangements negotiated between Central Government and areas / cities, where they are given the powers and tools they need to drive local economic growth.

In Reading’s case, the bid was put forward by Reading Borough Council on behalf of the Reading and Central Berkshire City Region.

Reading’s bid centres around giving young people who grew up and live in the area the skills they need to access local job opportunities. This includes driving down the skills gap that exists which in some cases can mean young people are not accessing any employment opportunities that may be available.

Examples of the gap between jobs on the market in Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham and West Berkshire, and jobseekers demand for those jobs include:

• Construction - Job Supply: 1038 Jobseekers demand: 220
• Social Care - Job Supply: 435 Jobseekers demand: 100
• Hospitality and Catering - Job Supply: 138 Jobseekers demand: 130
• Logistics - Job Supply: 314 Jobseekers demand: 145

Following today’s announcement, the next stage in the process is for Reading and its partners (* see notes to editors) to negotiate with the Government on what powers it needs to best achieve its aims.

Reading Borough Council Leader Jo Lovelock said: “This is good news for Reading and the wider region as we hope it will help young people to access any employment opportunities that become available. Reading is already widely recognised as a place where people move into to find work, but we also want to make sure that young people who grew up in the area are equipped with the skills and confidence to take advantage of opportunities. In the current economic climate it is more important than ever to help young people move smoothly from education to employment and I hope today’s good news will go some way towards helping us achieve that.”

Last summer, eight of England’s largest cities confirmed deals with the Government to boost local growth and in October 2012 a further twenty cities were invited to submit bids to get a City Deal. Each area worked with local partners and their Local Enterprise Partnership to put forward proposals. Following careful assessment of the bids the Government today announced it intends to enter into negotiations with every area on a staggered timeline.

Negotiations between the 20 cities and Central Government will now take place, with Reading being in the first wave of these negotiations. In return for cities’ strong plans for growth, the Government says it will devolve financial and planning powers to let cities / areas take charge of their own futures. This can include things like autonomy over how to spend training and skills budgets, or creating local investment funds to build roads or unlock developments.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

Key partners involved in the Reading and Berkshire City Region are:
Reading Borough Council; Bracknell Forest Council, Wokingham Borough Council; West Berkshire Council; Thames Valley Berkshire LEP; Reading UK CIC; O2; Oracle Shopping Centre; Thames Water; Federation of Small Businesses; Heart of Berkshire Hospitality Association; Jobcentreplus; New Directions; Reading College; Bracknell and Wokingham College; Berkshire College of Agriculture; University of Reading; Raising Participation Partnership; National Careers Service; Central Berkshire Education Business Partnership