Truancy link to job prospects

IT IS an irony of timing that the long-awaited plan by Siemens to build a £310m wind turbine factory in Hull came on the day that the latest truancy statistics were published.

The reason is this. Prior to the East Yorkshire city’s economic resurgence, it was infamous for its low levels of academic attainment and nearly one in five of all pupils being persistently absent from school – a shocking statistic.

Yet it is to the credit of Hull Council that the city’s truancy rate is now below six per cent. This has already been reflected in improved exam results and is a trend that needs to continue if Hull is to be less dependent on the welfare system in the long term.

If Lord Haskins, the chairman of the Humber LEP, is correct, the Siemens announcement – endorsed by David Cameron during a flying visit to Hull – could pave the way for 10,000 jobs if the area’s ambitious green energy plans fully materialise.

They are 10,000 jobs that would be otherwise lost to a region that has been blighted by above-average levels of unemployment for far too long.

Yet, if youngsters from Hull are to fully benefit from this unrivalled opportunity, they’re going to need the requisite skills. Siemens, as a responsible employer, is unlikely to take kindly to those pupils who squandered their education away.

And it is a message that needs to be embraced across Yorkshire after it emerged that the county is home to 30,000 regular truants – the second highest number in the country.

Unless this figure is reduced significantly, and this will only happen if the education authorities take decisive action before a child’s non-attendance becomes an issue, this region will continue to be held back by those who did not recognise the importance of passing key exams. School matters. Just ask all those who now want to work at Siemens and its supply chain companies.

Age-old questions

How to fund care for the elderly

AT face value, it appears contradictory that funding for elderly care is being reduced at a time when demand for services, such as meals-on-wheels and day care, is intensifying.

This is the clear conclusion of new research published today by the influential Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation, and which accuses the Government and the NHS of “flying blind” over the budgeting of social care.

Many will conclude from this that money is the issue, even more so after George Osborne warned of further savings to the public sector in last week’s Budget.

However it is more complicated than this. The amount of money transferred from the NHS to adult social care has more than doubled in recent years to £803m. The intention was clear – this is a policy sphere that requires increased expenditure.

Yet, despite this expectation, there continue to be instances of the reverse happening because town halls simply cannot balance their books – and meet the financial targets set by Ministers – without compromising their care services.

This cannot continue, hence the need for a new approach. There should be a national debate that clarifies the obligations of councils towards their residents. Once this vision has been clearly established, the onus should then be on Ministers, councillors and others to look at how these objectives can be funded on a sustainable basis.

Such a pragmatic and practical approach is likely to be more effective than the sticking plaster solutions currently being put forward in every budget round, and which do little to help Britain come to terms with an ageing society.

Yorkshire rules

How to halt London’s dominance

THERE will be those who contend that Paul Blomfield did not go far enough when the Sheffield Central MP challenged the Government to move major Whitehall ministries out of London because too many decisions are seen “through the prism of the metropolis”. They would argue that Britain would be far better governed if Parliament moved to Yorkshire and embraced three of this county’s traits – value for money, common sense and hard graft.

Yet Mr Blomfield might be advised to take up the cudgels with his leader Ed Miliband. For, like it or not, it was the last Labour government that centralised power in London – and it is this coalition which is empowering the regions. Yes, moving a Whitehall department to Yorkshire would provide a welcome and significant economic lift – but it would quickly become a token gesture unless the whole Government was to

change its entire mindset towards the regions. That is the challenge.