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Small Business News
Councils to lead job creation plans
Councils must be fully focused on providing job creation programmes said Local Government Minister John Healey and Employment Minister Tony McNulty in response to a key economic report. Speaking on the same day as the latest unemployment statistics, the ministers asked councils to lead their communities through the downturn and spearhead bids for the £1bn Future Jobs Fund to create 150,000 new jobs.
The Fund, announced in the budget, aims to prevent another generation from ending up on the 'long term employment scrapheap'. Government has not run a jobs programme for decades but it has learnt the lessons of the 1980s.
The downturn is affecting all parts of the country differently so this time round minsters want councils, who know their patch best, to harness the £1bn fund to drive forward job creation from the grassroots.
The 'application form' for bids has also been published today in DWP's Future Jobs Fund bidding documents following consultation with local authorities. It sets out how councils should submit innovative bids for the new Fund.
The Houghton report, commissioned by CLG and published in March ahead of the budget, called for the creation of a jobs fund led by councils. The announcement of the Future Jobs Fund provides a clear response to that call and a challenge to local councils to deliver.
As recommended by the Councillor Stephen Houghton's report, Ministers are also announcing that councils should now commit to create unemployment profiles of their communities so they can design jobs and skills programmes to fit local labour markets and future demand partners. Guidance will be published shortly.
In line with the Houghton report recommendation John Healey and Tony McNulty committed an additional £3 million to help councils kick start their plans and build capacity with specialist support provided by the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs).
In addition Government will establish a new National Worklessness Forum to bring central Government, councils and other local organisations together to find the best ways to help unemployed people back into work.
Local Government Minister John Healey said:"It is vital that at every level, whether Whitehall, the Town Hall or the community itself, we are doing everything we can to help people to stay in their homes and jobs.
"Every part of the country is being affected differently and we want councils, who know their patch best, to lead grassroots job creation campaign built by the community for the community.
"From today the Government is inviting applications for its £1bn Jobs Fund so councils, especially those with deprived communities, need to start thinking creatively about what they can do to create new jobs."
Employment Minister Tony McNulty said:"All levels of government need to work together to tackle the challenges of the recession, so it's only right that we are giving local authorities the tools they need to fix those problems.
"I want councils across the country to start bidding for money from our Future Jobs Fund so they can help people in their areas get back into employment while knowing that their work will make bring tangible benefits to their local communities .''
Cllr Stephen Houghton said: "The effects of the recession are being felt now by local authorities and the communities they represent - it is here that the blight of worklessness is felt and I know it is here that we will find the solutions. The Future Jobs Fund and the announcements today give councils a real opportunity to make a difference to the lives of those facing unemployment but they are also a real challenge. I am confident that we can work together to ensure that we rise to this challenge."
by: Editor
14th May 2009
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