A LARGE slice of a £1bn “jobs fund” to fight the deepening recession will be spent in Merseyside, a government minister will tell council leaders today.
John Healey will join a Cabinet meeting of the “city-region” at Liverpool town hall to urge its six councils to draw up ambitious work-creation plans, telling them: “This is a big opportunity for Merseyside”.
The £1bn fund – to prevent a generation ending up “on the scrapheap” in a repeat of the 1980s – will pledge work or training to anyone under 25 who has been unemployed for one year. Councils will be able to bid for about £6,000 per worker to set up part-time work schemes for six months, with subsidies also offered to private firms in sectors such as social care.
Now Mr Healey will explain that about one-third of the £1bn will be set aside for struggling areas with existing high rates of worklessness, including Merseyside.
Furthermore, the “city-region” – bringing together Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton councils – has already made job creation, skills and training its top priority.
Mr Healey told the Daily Post: “The jobs fund is a big opportunity for Merseyside – it has been designed with parts of Liverpool, Knowsley and St Helens in mind.
“They are areas where there are not just young people looking at fewer job prospects and a long time on the dole, but there are still large numbers who have not been in work for a long time and need extra help.
