City Strategies

City Strategies are an example in practice of the greater flexibility. 15 area based pilots have been established to look at city or city/region approaches to increasing employment and reducing benefit claimants. 

These pilots examine how existing resources may be used more effectively to improve provision, with a small amount of revenue from the Disadvantaged Area Fund (DAF) to lubricate some of the behavioural changes required.  The key aims of the City Strategy Pathfinders (CSPs), which provide the flexibility for local partners to come together in the development and delivery of local solutions are to:

• Improve employment rates, particularly among the most disadvantaged
• Ensure individuals are better able to find and stay in employment
• Improve individuals’ skills, so that they can progress in work


Three of the City Strategy Pathfinders are in Scotland – in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.