Support for the Pathfinders

The City Strategy is about making better use of the existing investment in employment and skills at local level. It is not about new money.

DWP is contributing funding to the City Strategy in three ways.

• £5 million of ‘seed-corn’ money to kick start the development of consortia, helping to build capacity, bring together partners and support the planning process plan. ‘Seed-corn’ money is up front money paid to the City Strategy pathfinders to pump-prime the work of the local consortia, providing support during its development and operational phase.
• An additional £5 million made available to the Pathfinders for 2009/10 and 2010/11.
• Deprived Areas Fund (DAF) money made available to the Pathfinders since April 2007. From April 2009 the DAF in England has formed DWP’s contribution to the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The City Strategy Pathfinders in Scotland and Wales will continue to receive DAF money until March 2011.

Targets

The Department is seeking to strike a balance within the targeting regime between the need to ensure progress against the Department’s strategic objectives and the opportunity for local areas to set their own targets that relate to activities they are pursuing through their business plan.

The Department recognises that achieving targets should not be viewed as an end in itself, and that a central purpose of setting targets is to ensure that there is an appropriate focus on improving opportunities for disadvantaged people.

Due to the economic down turn, it was agreed with the Pathfinders to report on the following targets:

• overall employment rate (working-age)
• working age people on out of work benefits
• working age people claiming out of work benefits in the worst performing neighbourhoods.

The Pathfinders provide Business Plans and Quarterly Monitoring Reports to support their progress towards the targets.