WIRRAL has been given almost £1m to help those finding it most difficult to get back into work.

The funding is designed to support local authorities in developing creative and innovative ways of tackling local worklessness.

The extra cash, through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) was awarded by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham.

A total of £807,140 is allocated to Wirral for the period of 2008 to 2011 and allows the local authority to work with Jobcentre Plus, the PCT and social landlords to tackle the barriers some people face in getting back to work.

Wirral Council leader, Cllr Steve Foulkes, said it was “tremendous news for Wirral”.

He said: “We have already implemented a number of important initiatives to combat the effects of the recession with our initial allocation of funding such as the highly successful Wirral Apprentice programme, ReachOut and our Business Investment Grants.”

Wirral was initially awarded £28,445,187 funding from the WNF over three years between 2008 and 2011 which has enabled the authority to implement The Wirral Apprentice programme which has seen the creation of one hundred new apprentice positions in local companies with Wirral Council paying their salaries for the next 18 months.

The young people also have their training paid for them by the National Apprenticeship Service, while they complete an apprenticeship in their chosen field. Wirral’s Reach Out project is an innovative approach that engages workless households by taking the service to their home.

Cllr Foulkes said: “This additional funding will enable us to undertake additional activity to combat the recession, and we will now assess how best to spend this most welcome extra resource.”

The extra finance will also allow Wirral Council to continue its support for businesses – during 2008-2009, eighty companies were assisted in creating or safeguarding more than 900 jobs and securing over £17m private sector investment.