Improving life chances for the most deprived

Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet will be asked to allocate £1m from its new Life Chances Fund which will “improve access to economic opportunity for the city’s most deprived residents.”

The one-off allocation is the council’s proceeds from its shareholding in Newcastle International Airport and is part of a move to help the city’s most vulnerable share in the city’s economic growth.

If Cabinet agree the spending decisions, some of the money will be invested in the projects starting from this month over the next two years.

A council report says the money will:

• Overcome barriers to employment in the East End of the city
• Strengthen the council’s Active Inclusion Newcastle project to prevent homelessness and tackle poverty
• Teach residents digital skills to help them find employment

Deputy leader of the council, Cllr Joyce McCarty said: “We are hugely ambitious and want to make Newcastle a prosperous city - but it has to be prosperity that everyone can share in.

“The city is growing, but if it’s to be a city that is at ease with itself it must help its most vulnerable and deprived residents play an active role in society.

“Investing profits from the airport to help long term unemployed people find work and support their families is further evidence of our intent to make Newcastle a fair city, a proud city, and a great place to live.”

If the decisions are approved, the projects that will benefit are:

North of Tyne Community Led Local Development (NT CCLD). This supports local groups in Newcastle and Wallsend that are focused on increasing employment. The Life Chances Fund will support smaller projects that struggle to get funding which focus on addressing low skills and overcoming barriers to work such as health, transport and loneliness. A local action group would be set up to agree funding decisions. It’s expected about 400 people will benefit.

The foundations for a Stable LIFE. A team will be set up to build on the nationally recognised work the council does to prevent homelessness. It will work with vulnerable households to help them better cope with the impact of welfare cuts and reduce the risk of family breakdown which leads to homelessness. It’s expected 200 households will benefit.

Digital inclusion and innovation. This will teach digital skills to older residents to help them access services and employment online, and will be done in partnership with JobCentre Plus, the Digital Newcastle network, Your Homes Newcastle and community hubs. It will also target support at NEETs (Not in Education, Employment and Training) and strengthen engagement between schools and employers to improve skills match. It’s expected 1,800 residents will benefit, of which 200 could move into work.

Cabinet will meet at 5.30pm on Monday July 15 at the Mansion House, Fernwood Road, Jesmond to consider the report.