A SCHEME pioneered in Barnsley which aims to get residents back into work has helped shape a government project which will be rolled out across the UK, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall revealed in a visit to the town yesterday.
The Pathways to Work Commission report was published by Barnsley Council in July with Ms Kendall in attendance to hear more about the scheme.
It took evidence from employers, educators and experts and spoke with 750 locals who have been affected by economic inactivity.
Yesterday Ms Kendall unveiled the first of nine trailblazer programmes in Barnsley to get Britain back to health and back to work, nine months on from her landmark speech on employment reforms in the town.
South Yorkshire is one of nine £125m-backed ‘inactivity trailblazers’ across the country to launch, with the aim of helping areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity as part of the wider ‘Plan for Change’.
Backed by £18m, South Yorkshire plans a dedicated new service working with employers to hire those with health conditions, and a new ‘triage’ system to make it quicker and easier to connect people to employment, health, and skills support.
This work will include preventing people falling out of work completely due to ill health through an NHS programme, working with people with conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to diabetes.
This could include arranging voluntary work as a stepping stone to paid employment or helping people receive the right treatment early so they can remain in a job.
In the first year, South Yorkshire will work with over 7,800 people and aim to help up to 3,000 people into jobs or to stay in jobs.
Ms Kendall said: “For too long, whole areas of the UK have been written off and deprived of investment.
“We are turning the tide on this - as we believe in the potential of every single person across our country and that they deserve to benefit from the security and dignity that good work affords.
“This is why we’re investing £125m into nine local areas to get Britain back to health and back to work - with our new approach making it quicker and easier for people to access the support they need to stay in work if they have a health condition or return to work.”
Through their new initiatives, South Yorkshire aims to reduce inactivity from 25.5 per cent in 2023 to under 20 per cent by the end of 2029 - equivalent to helping 40,000 people across the area.
Alison McGovern, the Minister of State for Employment, told the Chronicle that the investment is about regenerating people, as well as ‘bricks and mortar’.
She said: “It's massively important that we invest and I am knocked over with how Barnsley looks.
“It's not just because the sun is shining, it's because it's been rebuilt.
"We don't just want a bricks and mortar regeneration, we want regeneration of people - of hearts and minds.
“If you're going to do that you need a strong economy working hand-in-hand with strong public services.
“That's why we've all worked together to think what's a good way of doing this, of bringing in work help and employment support with the support the people need for their health.”
This campaign has been shaped by Barnsley’s Pathways to Work Commission - a landmark report that heard directly from local residents who have experienced barriers to accessing work.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard told the Chronicle: “I'm grateful to the government for putting support into Barnsley because for all too long that support just hasn't been there, especially for the first two years.
"I've been asking time and again for support for South Yorkshire, and all we got back at best was a response saying 'we're not interested'.
“To have a government genuinely investing in South Yorkshire, and in Barnsley in particular, is game-changing for us.
“We know what works for our communities and we have the backing from our government.”
Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton added: “We’ve created more jobs, and better jobs, so everyone can benefit from our growing Barnsley.
"However, we know and recognise that some residents need more help.
“That’s why we launched the Pathways to Work Commission, to examine the barriers preventing people from working and how we can overcome them.
“Now, through government backing and funding, we’re going to see the roll-out across South Yorkshire of more one-to-one, individual support for people that are out of work.
“This personalised approach will help our residents to overcome their barriers to work and find opportunities that are right for their needs, interests and circumstances.
“We’ve had an incredible response from businesses ready and willing to create roles are suitable for people who’ve been out of work.
“We couldn’t be more proud that Pathways to Work, born here in Barnsley, is about to help fast-track thousands of people out of economic inactivity, into a prosperous future in employment that suits them.”
