Poorer families in Sefton will benefit from a £1m scheme to help them back to work

Jun 2 2009 by Helen Hunt, Liverpool Daily Post

Cllr Peter Dowd Image 1

POORER families in Merseyside will benefit from a million pound project that will help boost their income.

Those with family earnings of less than £19,000 in Sefton will be targeted by the scheme.

It follows a successful bid by Sefton Council which is one of only ten councils to be given the cash from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

Under the scheme the jobless and the low paid will be given support tailored to their needs.

This will range from help getting jobs and training to helping them secure better housing and better skills and child care, which can be a barrier to getting back into the jobs market.

They will also be given advice on getting back into education, managing money and will have access to family coaches – people who will help the whole family improve their lot and revise their attitudes to work.

Sefton Council has been given £1,040,816 to carry out the project, which will run as a pilot scheme for two years.

Southport will be the first area to benefit but the project has the potential to be rolled out to other areas in the future.

The DSCF is handing out money as part of its drive to reduce child poverty.

It ties in with other local efforts to improve the lives of children and parents across the borough.

Cllr Peter Dowd, deputy leader of the council and children’s services cabinet member, said: “If a family works they are less likely to be in poverty.

“What this is saying is that if you want to alleviate child poverty you’ve got to work with families.

“This could be around attitude to work. There are people who’ve never worked for years and their attitude is trying to claim for benefits rather than getting into the jobs market. They may feel excluded.