The North Yorkshire Council

HAS Executive

10th April 2026

Trailblazer Community Management Support Procurement

Report of the Corporate Director Health and Adult Services

1.0     PURPOSE OF REPORT 

1.1    Approval is required to procure an organisation to deliver community management   support for the North Yorkshire elements of the Get York North Yorkshire Working Trailblazer programme.

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 The Get Britain Working Trailblazer was announced by the Government in November 2024, as a delivery programme of the Get Britain Working White Paper. Nationally, all local authority areas have developed a 10-year regional delivery plan designed to understand the local landscape related to economically inactive populations and to support employers to increase opportunities back into work.

2.2 York and North Yorkshire is one of eight Combined Authority areas in England and Wales chosen to deliver a specific, funded Trailblazer pilot programme as a part of the Get York North Yorkshire Working Delivery Plan. The programme commenced in 2025/26 as an initial one year £10M funded opportunity.

2.3 The North Yorkshire programme element included 17 projects delivering interventions to support economically inactive people into work, to reduce risk of falling out of work due to health and care barriers, and to support employers to maintain people with additional needs in work. The 17 projects have been delivered through management oversight by North Yorkshire Council (NYC) Public Health and operational delivery through a range of providers including NYC service areas, North Yorkshire Youth, North Yorkshire Sport, Hambleton Community Action, Carers Plus Yorkshire, Dementia Forward and Better Connect.  A Community Grants scheme within the programme included delivery by a further 28 hyper local community organisations with projects totalling £634,000.

2.4 A second year of £10M funding for York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (Y&NYCA) has been confirmed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to be spent in its entirety within the 2026/27 budget year. North Yorkshire’s allocation is £3.66M.

2.5 Due to limited timescales in Year 1, pragmatic approaches were undertaken to ensure delivery partners from the voluntary and community sector were able to take part in and expeditiously deliver elements of the programme. This included several direct award grants, as well as working through existing contract provision, all in line with the Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules, to achieve delivery within the budget year. However, any further allocation of funding for grants and service delivery would require new and open procurement practices due to value thresholds being reached.

2.6 The North Yorkshire Council Year 2 programme has been refined to 8 projects building from year 1 activities in line with revised DWP criteria to work with 16yrs+. These include:

· Place based engagement and support model; including engagement and navigation of the skills landscape and access to community support

· Employer engagement programme; learning from employer engagement feedback on key priorities

· Musculo-Skeletal Hubs; delivered by specialist instructors within Active North Yorkshire to reduce pain and long-term absence from work

· Integrating data and research; across York and North Yorkshire health, local authorities, and DWP

· Community Grants Scheme; providing £900k funding to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE) at a hyper local level, to remove health and socio-economic barriers to work

· The LEAP Wage Subsidy Programme; integrated working between NYC Resourcing Solutions and VCSE to provide paid employment with support for participant and employer

2.7 It is proposed that the network of community focused interventions continue to be managed through a single coordinated approach with the VCSE.

3.0 CONSULTATION

3.1 This is an extension to the first-year programme and in that respect, there has been no formal consultation process on year 2 delivery plans. There has been ongoing discussion with project leads from within council services, the Humber North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (H&NY ICB), Y&NYCA and with relevant Voluntary and Community Service delivery partners, including a collaborative review of first year programme delivery to assist the shape of project delivery going into Year 2.

4.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

4.1 The overall Trailblazer programme aligns with a range of Council Plan priority areas, across the “thriving places and empowered communities,” “safe, healthy, and living well” and “maximise the potential” themes. Supporting people who are economically inactive to reengage and sustain good employment will directly contribute to better outcomes for North Yorkshire’s residents, communities, and businesses.

5.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 This is a second-year allocation of one-off grant funding for the North Yorkshire Trailblazer programme. At the time of writing there is no indication from the DWP nor the Y&NYCA as to a third year of funding. Any expenditure on all Year 2 projects must be defrayed by 31 March 2027 and will be retrospectively claimed per month for activities undertaken.

5.2 Of the £10M DWP fund allocated to Y&NYCA for the Year 2 programme, £3,664,960 will be granted directly to North Yorkshire Council. Final amounts may differ relating to delivery progress or any requirements to reprofile due to over or underperformance by the end of the budget year 2026/27.

The value of this proposed contract for Year 2 is over £100k and will directly support the delivery of the Community Grants and Wage Subsidy Scheme (LEAP) programmes. This will include the administration of a £900k community grants fund and, the coordination and matching of participants and employers to the LEAP programme in conjunction with NYC Resourcing Solutions, as project lead. The funding will come in its entirety from the £3.66M grant allocation.

5.4 Due to the uncertainty of further funding for any period exceeding 2026/27, the intention at this stage is to pre-empt potential extensions and to provide a contract that can be extended year on year, for a further two years, should additional funding be available. This does increase the overall contract potential value annually up to 2028/29 but reduces the need for further procurement practices being required during this period. This would save considerable time pressures in the future, manage financial uncertainty for the voluntary and community sector, and provide consistent funding arrangements without forced breaks.

5.5 Payment of the contract and grant funding will be aligned to agreed payment schedules. This is not a payment by results contract. The awarded provider must comply with the terms of the overarching programme grant agreement, including the return of monitoring data, to receive scheduled funding.

6.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

6.1 Procurement of the community management support service will be completed in accordance with the Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules and the Procurement Act 2023.

7.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

7.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment Screening has been completed. This highlights the potential positive impact of working with the voluntary and community sector to reach identities and community organisations that should benefit most from the programme.

8.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

8.1 A Climate Change Impact Assessment has been completed. There are no identified direct climate implications.

9.0 REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

9.1 To deliver Year 2 of the North Yorkshire Trailblazer programme, the Council must review the current grant and contract funded arrangements under this programme. The report proposes a revised list of projects, streamlining the management of community funding into one approach. This provides the Council with a flexible approach, future proofing any further uncertainty from potential, additional grant allocations through the Trailblazer programme.

10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

10.1 The Corporate Director, Health and Adult Services in conjunction with the Executive Member for Health and Adults Services approves the process to procure an organisation to offer community management support for the North Yorkshire Council delivery elements of the Get York North Yorkshire Working Economically Inactive Trailblazer programme.

Abigail Barron

Corporate Director – Health and Adult Services

Report Author – Angela Crossland, Head of Healthier Lives, Community and Economy, Public Health

Appendices:

Appendix A – Equality Impact Assessment

Appendix B – Climate Change Impact Assessment

Appendix A – Equality Impact Assessment:

Initial equality impact assessment screening form This form records an equality screening process to determine the relevance of equality to a proposal, and a decision whether or not a full EIA would be appropriate or proportionate.
Directorate	Health and Adult Services
Service area	Public Health
Proposal being screened	Trailblazer Community Management Support Procurement
Officer(s) carrying out screening	Angela Crossland
What are you proposing to do?	As part of the delivery of the Get York North Yorkshire Working Delivery Plan, the council is reprocuring services to support the delivery of schemes supporting economically inactive participants through community interventions. Due to the value and effect on multiple wards, this is a key officer decision.
Why are you proposing this? What are the desired outcomes?	The Trailblazer programme has already completed up to 12mths intervention and the reprocurement of community support would enable this work to continue. The programme aims to: · Support people who are currently economically inactive with health conditions / neurodiversity to help them move back towards work  · Reduce the number of YNY residents becoming inactive or at risk of becoming inactive, by providing preventative health and employment support whilst they are still in work. To achieve this, our approach will be: · Person centred and recognise the different experiences that people may have of health issues and the influence of wider economic and social determinants. We will deliver activities that integrate a person-centred approach and wrap around support alongside existing health provision. This will enable individuals to progress into work, reducing inactivity and avoiding further deterioration of health conditions. · Targeted provision to support those in greatest need and ensure we are addressing inequalities rather than exacerbating them. · Enhancing existing activity with an awareness of what is currently funded and what more is required, whilst ensuring we are building on good practice, lessons learned, and expertise built up from existing and previous provision. · Transformational and step change in the capacity and capability in the systems and services to support economically inactive people providing a legacy for future programmes and policies.
Does the proposal involve a significant commitment or removal of resources? Please give details.	The programme is DWP grant funded, administered through the YNYCA and would provide the resources required to support NY initiatives focused on the aspects above.
Impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010, or NYC’s additional agreed characteristics As part of this assessment, please consider the following questions: · To what extent is this service used by particular groups of people with protected characteristics? · Does the proposal relate to functions that previous consultation has identified as important? · Do different groups have different needs or experiences in the area the proposal relates to? If for any characteristic it is considered that there is likely to be an adverse impact or you have ticked ‘Don’t know/no info available’, then a full EIA should be carried out where this is proportionate. You are advised to speak to your directorate representative for advice if you are in any doubt.
Protected characteristic		Potential for adverse impact				Don’t know/No info available
		Yes		No
Age				X
Disability				X
Sex				X
Race				X
Sexual orientation				X
Gender reassignment				X
Religion or belief				X
Pregnancy or maternity				X
Marriage or civil partnership				X
People in rural areas				X
People on a low income				X
Carer (unpaid family or friend)				X
Are from the Armed Forces Community				X
Does the proposal relate to an area where there are known inequalities/probable impacts (for example, disabled people’s access to public transport)? Please give details.		Yes, projects are designed to support individuals who are economically inactive or at risk of becoming so due to a range of inequality issues. The current projects include support for: · Physical and mental health · Long term health condition management · Unpaid carers · Learning disability · Veterans · Individuals with low income It is anticipated that projects will continue to offer the same support.
Will the proposal have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (for example, partners, funding criteria, etc.). Do any of these organisations support people with protected characteristics? Please explain why you have reached this conclusion.		The procurement builds on the work of a range of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises. All services are focused on supporting individuals with protected characteristics as above. The funding will support them to continue operating, to build on current service provision as well as to test new ways of working to further enhance outcomes for people who are, or at risk of being economically inactive
Decision (Please tick one option)		EIA not relevant or proportionate:	X		Continue to full EIA:
Reason for decision		The grant funding will support an ongoing programme into a further year which directly and positively benefits NY residents and businesses and aims to reduce inequalities in the above groups.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)		Louise Wallace
Date		24.03.26

Appendix B: Climate Change Assessment

Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Trailblazer Community Management Support Procurement
Brief description of proposal	As part of the delivery of the Get York North Yorkshire Working Delivery Plan, the council is reprocuring services to support the delivery of schemes supporting economically inactive participants through community interventions. Due to the value and effect on multiple wards, this is a key officer decision.
Directorate	Health and Adult Services
Service area	Public Health
Lead officer	Angela Crossland
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate	X	Continue to full CCIA
Reason for decision	No impacts have been identified
Signed (Assistant Director of equivalent)	Louise Wallace
Date:	24.03.26