By Richard Johnstone | 30 October 2013
Ipswich has agreed a City Deal with the government. The deal, agreed today, aims to boost employment in the city by improving the skills of the workforce.
It is the third of the second round of City Deals and follows the announcement of a pact covering the Thames Valley area on Monday.
The deal, covering the Greater Ipswich area, includes a target to help 3,500 young people into work, backed by a £10m invested from both the public and private sectors. It also aims to create 5,000 new apprenticeships by 2019.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the deal would allow Ipswich and the rest of Suffolk to design new ways to help more young people into sustainable employment.
‘This is an unprecedented opportunity for the people who know Ipswich best to decide how to invest millions of pounds in the region, ensuring we are building a stronger economy and doing it fairly,’ he said.
‘This City Deal has the genuine power to change the fortunes of many people across the region. It will give young people a greater chance of finding a job, it will help people gain extra training, improve education and provide a massive boost to the area’s businesses.’
The deal comes after months of negotiations between local authorities and the government in the second wave of the City Deals programme, which has seen 20 areas invited to negotiate with government. This followed an initial phase when powers and responsibilities were devolved the eight core cities in England.
Preston struck the first of the new round of agreements last month, and this was followed by Monday’s agreement covering the Thames Valley area, including Reading.
Under the Thames Valley programme, £2.4m from the government’s Youth Contract will be invested locally to boost youth employment. The money will be used to create a single information point on employment and skills opportunities for people aged 16 to 24, allowing services to be tailored to local needs. This is expected to support 4,500 jobseekers over three years.
Unveiling the Thames Valley agreement, Clegg said testing new approaches and finding local solutions to problems like youth unemployment was ‘exactly what City Deals are about’.
He added: ‘This is a fair way for government to support cities as they grow and I look forward to signing ambitious deals with many more cities that will follow the lead of pioneers like Thames Valley Berkshire.’
The deal has also called for the area’s local authorities to work together to introduce a new governance structure, so the area can to both deliver the City Deal and prepare for the introduction of the Single Local Growth Fund from 2015/16.
