Minister praises Liverpool’s pioneering project which has helped ex-drug users and others back to work

Feb 29 2008 by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post

Minister praises Liverpool’s pioneering project which has helped ex-drug users and others back to work

THE Government’s employment minister was in Liverpool yesterday to meet ex-drug users who have been helped back to work through a pioneering project.

A former drug and alcohol user, a man on probation and a single mother told MP Stephen Timms how their lives had been turned around through the Social Partnership.

The partnership, which works closely with Jobcentre Plus, helps the long-term unemployed – typically unemployed for 17 years or more – and socially excluded people back into employment by providing training, education and job placements.

One of their schemes, the fixers course, combines IT and skills training with work placements which has helped 90% of clients into work.

Mr Timms visited the Castle Street office to see first hand how the partnership had succeeded across Liverpool and Sefton.

Mr Timms said: “The Govern-ment announced its new 10-year drug strategy yesterday and we know that drug abuse is a major barrier to employment.

“Firstly, we want people to avoid drugs in the first place but if they do start using drugs we want help to be available so they can get into employ-ment so they can build a decent future for themselves.

“The Social Partnership, is a good example of how it can be done, they’ve got hundreds of people into work. The flexible new deal hopes to get people into work within 12 months and keep them there.

“In relation to drugs, we shouldn’t be helping to support people with drug habits, people should be taking opportunities to get help when help is provided.

“We as a government have the responsibility for making sure this help is in place.”

Mhairi Doyle, Jobcentre social inclusion manager, said she had set up the partnership after seeing a gap in the provision for people with problems trying to get into work.

She said: “People with drug and substance misuse lack confidence and they have often never worked and have been living in areas of criminality.

“They lack social skills and they need to learn about work and we support them a lot in the early months, but they then go on to secure their own jobs and we have had some fantastic people go on to employment.”

laurasharpe