Government announces new measures to tackle worklessness

Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton has announced further support for councils to tackle worklessness, create jobs and apprenticeships.

In a keynote speech at the National Worklessness Forum, Ms Winterton said the Government was not prepared to leave behind a generation of people plunging deeper into long-term worklessness as the country moves towards recovery.

Ms Winterton stressed that economic opportunities would not happen by themselves, every layer of Government needed to play its part.

Councils and their local partners have a key role to play providing effective local leadership to create economic development.

Ms Winterton highlighted a report published today that showed what councils in deprived areas were already doing to tackle persistent worklessness through the Government's £1.5billion Working Neighbourhood Fund.

For example Liverpool’s ‘Streets ahead’ programme that brings together key local agencies to reach out to residents in priority neighbourhoods through schools and community centres. Or the WNF funded Jobmates scheme in Doncaster which helps people tackle their barriers into work through friendly 'job mates' who can help with housing, childcare and debt issues to help their clients get training or work.

Ms Winterton stressed in her speech that there could be no complacency and this was why the government had recently given the 61 eligible councils a further £40 million to lift long-term jobless back into work.

The Minister also announced three new areas of practical guidance that will improve councils efforts:

• ‘How to Guides’ on: Working with Jobcentre Plus, the Future Jobs Fund, Promoting skills and employment through Procurement, and the local authority role in promoting employment and skills through Apprenticeships. These accessible online guides produced by the IDeA will help Local Authorities deal with different challenges thrown up by the recession and the programmes created to deal with it. More will follow in the coming weeks.
• New guidance will help councils getting Future Jobs Funding set out a blueprint for action that identifies what needs to be done to reduce worklessness and increases economic inclusion in their area. These 'Work and Skills Plans' will become the cornerstone of a council’s strategy for delivering new jobs and tackling long-term worklessness and entrenched deprivation.
• New guidance to help councils set up ‘Economic Prosperity Boards’ that will give groups of councils the ability to create an executive decision-making body to promote economic growth across a sub-region. Combined with Works and Skills Plans this will reinforce local and sub-regional efforts to drive growth and generate employment.

Rosie Winterton said: “Recessions can cast a long shadow and this time we’re determined not to leave behind a generation of people plunged into long-term worklessness.

“This Government has put a relentless focus on economic growth at the heart of everything we do. There can be no lasting solutions to worklessness without economic growth – in every part of the country.

"But we know we cannot tackle worklessness on our own sitting in Whitehall. Councils know their areas and residents better than anyone and all need to play their part.

“That’s why I’m announcing a series of measures today that will give councils the tools to develop innovative ways of tackling persistent worklessness, the people that are hardest to reach, to plug skills gaps, nurture enterprise and create jobs.”