Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has proposed renaming Job Centres to help support more people into work - though accepts more work is needed on a 'paradigm shift' to support those out of work.
Mr Burnham views Job Centres as an 'outlier' in Greater Manchester, criticising their 'tick box system' which he believes fails to match jobseekers with suitable roles.
Instead, he is advocating for control over the local element of the 'employment support budget', valued at £6bn nationally, to fund voluntary organisations like Salford's Loaves and Fishes. These organisations would provide comprehensive support to unemployed residents in a single location, dubbed a 'Live Well Centre'.
"I would like Job Centres Plus to be renamed Live Well Centres. In the main it would say to the public you are going to be helped here," Mr Burnham stated during an MPs' inquiry into reforming Job Centres on Tuesday (April 1).
He said there was a significant opportunity for the Department for Work and Pensions estate to better integrate with Greater Manchester's initiatives, and said: "It can feel like an outlier in our communities when it needs to be part of the fabric, part of the place where lives are changed in a really positive way."
He added that while a simple 'rebranding' exercise wouldn't suffice to increase employment rates 'on its own', a 'paradigm shift' is necessary.
Speaking before a select committee, he emphasised: "It would have to come with the feel of the place being in the community and voluntary sector.
"That money would secure them up and create more volunteering opportunities for people on their journey back to work.
"The atmosphere that would create in Live Well Centre which was crowded out with the voluntary sector. The feel would really make a difference."
Mr Burnham's appearance coincided with the inauguration of Greater Manchester's 'integrated settlement' at Manchester town hall. This new financial arrangement with the government grants the mayor increased autonomy.
Previously tethered to approximately 150 distinct funding sources, each with its own strings attached, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will, from April 1, receive a single sum and will have greater liberty to allocate funds.
Leaders are now able to redirect up to 10% of the £630m between six specified 'pillars', exerting control over the 'local growth and place' pillar funds to suit their judgement.
Despite the flexibility of the £630m integrated settlement, it is a fraction of GMCA's total £3bn budget; thus, Mr Burnham is restrained in his expenditure.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that some of the flexible fund could be channelled to boost the Live Well programme.
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