This week's key messages: Official statistics show that the ‘green economy’ is booming, growing faster than other sectors last year. Investment into the sector has really ramped up over recent decades, and South Yorkshire is one such ‘hotspot’ of activity. A recent trial of the four-day working week has been received as successful. The vast … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (3 March) →

This week's key messages: Data from the ONS on household incomes and labour markets in South Yorkshire provide an insight into the long-term trends in our region around work patterns, gender inequality and economic inactivity. Recent data from Tussell that calculates the Government’s bill for third-party advisers has soared to a record £2.8bn in 2022 … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (24 Feb) →

Written by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority As part of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), we want to put your values and views at the heart of transforming skills in our region. The South Yorkshire LSIP aims to make sure that businesses in our region have the skills they need to take full advantage … Continue reading Have your say: South Yorkshire Local Skills Improvement Plan Business Survey (SYMCA) →

This week's key messages: Data from the second half of 2022 show that economic inactivity is continuing to fall. A (record) high movement of working-aged people from economic inactivity to employment, particularly amongst those aged 16 to 24 years and 50-64. Analysis of the social factors influencing life expectancy finds that educational disadvantage carries the … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (17 Feb) →

Report produced by Shivani Sickotra, a PhD student funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council and SYMCA, researching the skills and education landscape of South Yorkshire. Relative deprivation across England using the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) has been widely analysed, including mapping overall deprivation within each English LAD (Rae, 2019). This geo-visualisation … Continue reading Spatial mapping of South Yorkshire highlights areas of education, skills and training deprivation →

This week's key messages GDP figures released on Friday indicate that the UK technically avoided a recession but has zero growth. This week the PM reshuffled Cabinet, with several restructured departments and new ministerial appointments. This includes a new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. A report by think tank Common Wealth looks into … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (10 Feb) →

This week's key messages The Centre for Cities highlights that the official numbers of unemployment mask substantial numbers of hidden workers, particularly in large towns and cities in the North.  The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee explains that rising economic inactivity has been fueled by a reduction in labour supply, primarily caused by an … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (3 Feb) →

Please download the file below to read the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing as of Friday 27 January. symca-policy-briefing-27-01-2023Download This week's key messages Bloomberg UK updated its Levelling Up scorecard and found that more than three-quarters of constituencies — especially those in the Midlands and North — were already behind London and the … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (27 Jan) →

Please download the file below to read the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing as of Friday 20 January. SYMCA Policy Briefing 20-01-2023Download This week's key messages The Government awarded allocations in Round 2 of its flagship £2.1 billion Levelling Up Fund, with over 100 successful projects, including the 'Barnsley Futures' bid. Recent … Continue reading South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Weekly Policy Briefing (20 Jan) →

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority would like to invite you to an upcoming webinar on Wednesday 29 June. The title of the webinar is Flexibility is key to filling rising vacancies in South Yorkshire SYMCA will be joined by colleagues from the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) who will be talking through some of their … Continue reading SYMCA Policy Webinar: Flexibility is key to filling rising vacancies in South Yorkshire (29 June) →

Written by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority If you’re an adult who does not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in Maths, and you need to improve your numeracy, free courses are coming soon via the Multiply scheme. Multiply is the new national programme focused on improving adult numeracy skills and confidence. The … Continue reading SYMCA survey on upcoming Multiply numeracy skills programme →