Airport Group offers flying start for jobs recovery

Fifteen of the region’s top landlords will highlight the job opportunities of 400,000 people across the North of England to the House of Commons tomorrow (Tuesday 30th June).

The Airport Group of stock transfer housing associations owns homes across the city regions of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. All believe the recession is hitting their customers hard, and over half of all social housing tenants do not work in paid employment.

Tackling worklessness – a dependency on benefits accompanied by a self-belief of being unemployable – is a major government priority, and the Airport Group wants government to support their role.

Group members were tackling worklessness before the downturn, and commissioned independent research to review effectiveness and promote their willingness to improve future job prospects. “Giving neighbourhoods a flying start” is a summary of the success of past initiatives, and a call for government departments to support social and economic regeneration. Written by Helen Cope, an expert in tackling worklessness in the social housing sector, the Group’s offer covers five key areas: frontline housing services, employment and enterprise, employability, working with young people and adopting strategic approaches.

Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform Jim Knight MP has agreed to hear the Airport Group’s case at the launch. He said “I’ll be interested to hear about the initiatives the Airport Group has been carrying out to help tackle worklessness. It is vital we do everything we can both to help people into work right now, and to prevent long term unemployment scarring families and communities for the future.

“We are investing £5bn extra into helping jobseekers – creating jobs for young people and those in the hardest hit communities, delivering training and skills, and providing 16,000 extra frontline staff in Jobcentres across the country.”

New Charter’s Group Chief Executive Ian Munro said government should recognise and support the Airport Group to become an even more significant part of the regions’ recovery. “Collectively we have spent £1.9bn since 2007 on improving homes and neighbourhoods, generating substantial jobs in the construction sector especially. We plan to spend £237m new homes over the next four years, and last year invested £3m in projects promoting employment and job prospects. With our influence on procurement, we are uniquely placed to tackle worklessness and create improved job opportunities for residents.”

Helena Partnerships Chief Executive Rob Young is particularly motivated by the alarming rise in unemployment in the under 25s. “Each year over 450 apprentices are employed by the Airport Group, and we all run education and skills projects which target young people. But the fact remains that worklessness for new tenants under 25 is over 80%. We’re telling government we can deliver the right initiatives but that it needs to recognise and provide funding specifically for housing associations to maintain the momentum.”

The Group plans to lobby ministers in Communities and Local Government and in the Department for Work and Pensions, and has already won support from MPs across the North for its case.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The Airport Group is a partnership of housing associations that work together on issues that affect them and the neighbourhoods in which they work. They own over 170,000 homes across the North of England. With over 400,000 tenants between them, the Airport Group has an unparalleled knowledge of their residents’ needs.

2. The 15 members of the Airport Group are:

Cheshire Peaks and Plains Housing Trust
City West Housing Trust
Community Gateway Association
Eastlands Homes Partnership
Helena Partnerships
Incommunities Group
New Charter Housing Trust
One Vision Housing
Parkway Green
Prospect Homes Group
Trafford Housing Trust
Transpennine Housing
Weaver Vale Housing Trust
Willow Park Housing Trust
Wirral Partnership Homes