Event Details

Roundtable at the Labour Party Conference 2024 that will discuss how local leaders and the Government can work together to delvier legislative and service reform to increase labour market participation in this Parliament.

There are now a record 2.83 million economically inactive people in the UK due to ill health – an increase of 700,000 since 2019. This is one of the big reasons why the UK is the only G7 economy with a smaller workforce than before the pandemic, and why employers across the country are facing worker and skills shortages. In turn this is slowing economic growth and putting increased pressure on welfare budgets.

Earlier this summer, the Pathways to Work Commission – convened by Barnsley City Council and partners in South Yorkshire – published its final report, which detailed a series of key recommendations to stem the flow of people leaving the labour market due to ill health, and support more of those who are out of work to return.

The Government has promised significant legislative and service reform to increase labour market participation in this Parliament. This includes measures to strengthen employment rights, deliver a new industrial strategy and devolve more powers relating to economic growth to local areas.

This roundtable will bring together key stakeholders to discuss how these reforms can be delivered, including:

• What are the advantages to a place-based approach to tackling economic inactivity?
• What elements of the current employment support, skills and health systems could be devolved to a local or regional level to help tackle economic inactivity?
• What changes to national Government policies would support these efforts – in particular, with regards the welfare system?
• How can Labour MPs, Mayors and Councillors engage more deeply with employers to create pathways to sustainable and good quality jobs?

Attendees include Rt Hon Alan Milburn (Chancellor, Lancaster University), Oliver Coppard (Mayor of South Yorkshire), Lord Blunkett (Member of House of Lords), Sir Steve Houghton CBE (Leader, Barnsley Council), Anna Smith (Deputy-Mayor, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) and senior representatives from TUC, Institute for Government, TUC, New Economics Foundation, Learning and Work Institute and Recruitment & Employment Confederation.