£40m to lift long-term jobless back into
work
Families who haven't worked for years will be helped to climb out of
poverty and into employment through a new £40 million job and skills
drive, Communities Secretary John Denham announced.
While the number of long-term jobless families in deprived areas has fallen
by 13 per cent over the last ten years, Mr. Denham is determined to step up
action to support the remaining 70,000 back into work. He wants to see that
no-one is left behind especially now when the rest of the country is
fighting to recover from the downturn.
The extra Working Neighbourhood funding will allow 61 councils to do more,
including directly stepping in to help the lives of some of the poorest
people to get them in shape for work and off long term benefits, providing
the support and skills they need.
One of the most effective ways of reaching out to the long-term unemployed
is through social landlords, who already have relationships with their
tenants. Mr. Denham believes they can become the doorway for council-led
agency interventions.
More information is available from the Communities and Local Government website.
