4 April 2006 - Olympics will help tackle city’s unemployed
A new project designed to tackle worklessness and increase employment in London was unveiled today by Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform.
The plans form part of the Government’s vision for the city following the awarding of the 2012 Olympic Games and are outlined in a report launched today by the Prime Minister, ‘Building on success: London’s challenge for 2012’.
The East and West London pathfinders will bring together local partners, employers, local and central government whilst allowing boroughs the freedom to use and target their money and resources in as innovative and effective ways as they can. The East London pathfinder will seek to maximise the opportunities available in the City and the developing Thames Gateway whilst the West’s will build on the experience of the Fair Cities Initiative in Brent with employer-led partnerships focusing on the local economy.
Margaret Hodge said:
“The fact is that for London to reach the national average for employment we need to get a further 250,000 people in work. The jobs are there, but what I want us to do is ensure that Londoners benefit from them. Pathfinders will help us achieve that.
“2012 presents us with an once-in-a-lifetime chance to knock down some of the barriers that prevent Londoners from making the most of the opportunities that this city’s continued growth and success can provide.
“The pathfinders will pool together money and expertise across the private and public sector. Giving them the freedom to use their resources as they see fit, to meet challenging targets on getting people back into the workplace and ensure the Games give the city a legacy that reaches far beyond what is achieved on the sports field.”
The East London pathfinder will include the five Olympic boroughs of Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
The West London equivalent will involve the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. It will build on the experience of the Fair Cities initiative in Brent.
Margaret Hodge said this new approach would be central to the Government’s wider agenda for welfare reform.
“Whilst there has been an inevitable focus on what the Games will mean for East London, it is important that the whole city is able to take advantage of this opportunity.
“The Fair Cities initiative in Brent is an example of what can be achieved where employers work closely with Government and Jobcentre Plus to help meet both their needs and those of people seeking work. Local companies want to employ local people and where government can facilitate this it should.
“This is what our proposals for the welfare state are about. Using what works, ensuring the state can be flexible enough to meet the needs of individuals and making the most of local expertise.”
Notes to Editors
- The Government’s report ‘Building on success: London’s challenge for 2012’ is available at the Government Office for London website: www.gos.gov.uk/gol
- The Department for Work and Pensions’ Welfare Reform Green Paper ‘A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work’ is available online at: www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform
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