Insight 43 - Magazine - Page 10
HERTFORDSHIRE
FUTURES DEBATES
The Economic Strategy Webinar Series
Join us for a series of online seminars as we debate some of the biggest questions
facing our county – from the impact of ill health on employment to attracting more
green investment and how we can better harness digital opportunities.
H
ertfordshire Futures is kicking off
2025 with a series of debates that
will bring national and regional
experts together to discuss some of the
key issues facing our county. Hosted by
Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair, Hertfordshire
Futures, these debates will help to shape
Hertfordshire’s future by putting residents,
businesses and communities at the heart
of plans to create a resilient, productive,
inclusive and sustainable economy. The
60-minute discussions will help to remove
barriers to economic growth and identify
future work plans to support:
• Inclusion – how can we reduce the
impact of ill health on the local economy?
• Digital Adoption – how can we maximise
the benefits and reduce the risks of
industries and people being left behind?
• Sustainability – how can we incentivise
sustainable development and attract
green investment?
Each 60-minute debate will be chaired by
radio and podcast host Matt Deegan with
Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair, Hertfordshire
Futures, hosting the series.
WEBINAR 1:
Get Hertfordshire Working
29 January, 09.30-10.30
In the first of three webinars designed
to take a more collaborative, locally led
approach to key issues we bring experts
from across skills, work and health
leadership to look at how we can get
people back into work and tackle the
rising issue of economic inactivity due to
long term sickness.
The number of people leaving the labour
force due to mental and physical ill health
is at record levels. The Government’s
10
recent White Paper, Get Britain Working,
comes as stark figures show almost one
and a half million people are unemployed,
over nine million people are inactive, and
a record 2.8 million people are out of work
due to long-term sickness. Young people
have also been left behind with one in
eight young people not in education,
employment or training, and nine million
adults lack the essential skills they need
to get on in work.
Poor health and well-being are putting
more people at risk of social exclusion
and poverty, while employers are facing
significant recruitment challenges and
skills shortages. This brings huge societal
and individual consequences as well as
driving up welfare costs.
Hertfordshire is in-line with this national
trend. Recent data locally shows that the
number of people who are out of work
and not seeking a job has grown at a
dramatic rate over the past decade. These
are not the officially unemployed but
bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2025
those who are ‘economically inactive’ due
to a range of reasons, including long term
sickness.
Get Hertfordshire Working will
investigate why the number of people who
are economically inactive due to long-term
sickness has surged in a decade and why
the numbers claiming unemployment
benefits varies from district to district.
During this debate you will hear from:
• Cllr Richard Roberts, Leader,
Hertfordshire County Council
• Sarah Perman, Director of Public Health,
Hertfordshire County Council
• Claire Dicks, UK Lead Entity & Head of
Local Community Engagement, MBDA
• Michael Wood, Head of Health Economic
Partnerships, NHS Confederation
• Tilini Sharland, Service Leader for Beds
and Herts District, Department for Work
and Pensions
For more information and to book your
place, click here.
