Lyn Brown, Labour MP for West Ham, has welcomed an extra £1.1million funding from the government’s Working Neighbourhoods Fund intended to help Newham’s long-term unemployed to gain new skills and get back to work.

This new funding is part of a £40million package from the government to be shared amongst 61 local authorities.  It is designed to help tackle long-term unemployment and to ensure that noone is left behind during the recession.  Newham’s extra £1.1million is on top of the £39million it already receives from the Fund.

The Working Neighbourhoods Fund has already handed out £1.5bn since 2008 and helped over 70,000 families nationwide.  Labour has reduced the number of long-term jobless families by 13 per cent over the last ten years and this extra funding demonstrates Labour’s commitment to getting the remaining 73,000 families back to work.

 Lyn Brown, MP for West Ham, said:

 “I hope that this extra £1.1million will help those in our community who need it most.  It will help the long-term unemployed in Newham to gain the right skills and opportunities and get back into work.

In past recessions, too many people were left behind and this government is determined that this won’t happen again.  The Working Neighbourhoods Fund gives resources directly to Newham council, enabling it to take immediate action to help our community.

The Conservatives will cut local authority funding by £1 billion, threatening initiatives like the Working Neighbourhood Fund and leaving thousands without a safety net.  Labour is fully committed to ensuring that everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to realise their potential.

 Labour has already provided £3billion to improve JobCentre Plus, guaranteed jobs or training for all long-term unemployed young people and the Backing Young Britain programme to help create opportunities for young people.  This extra funding is yet another example of our government providing real support for communities during the downturn.”