Fair Start Scotland: Up to £96 million for unemployment support

Scotland’s first fully devolved employment service will start delivering flexible and tailored support from Tuesday 3 April. Fair Start Scotland will offer personalised support for at least 38,000 people further removed from the labour market.

Ahead of the launch, the Scottish Government set out the next steps towards delivering more effective and joined-up employability support across Scotland.

‘No One Left Behind – Next Steps for the Integration and Alignment of Employability Support in Scotland’ outlines measures to join up employability support across Scotland, including working with the Scottish Prison Service to develop new routes into employment, and piloting a Single Health and Work Gateway in Fife and Dundee.

Speaking at a visit to Capital City Partnership’s Joined Up for Jobs Integration Project, Employability Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “The launch of Fair Start Scotland is a landmark moment in our journey to deliver a person-centred employment service.

“Our new powers have created a service that is more flexible and responsive to a changing labour market; one that will tackle inequalities and grow Scotland’s economy by helping more people into work. It is also fairer – the fact the service is voluntary means people are not driven to take part through fear of sanctions.

“We are aware that this is only the start – our clear focus on joining up employability with health, justice and housing, ensures a solid platform on which we will build in the future.”

From next month the new Fair Start Scotland service will aim to help at least 38,000 people to find employment, including those facing barriers to entering the labour market.

The key focus for the service will be tailored and personalised support for all those who participate. Key elements of the service are:

  • Participation will be entirely voluntary;
  • All participants can expect to receive in-depth action planning to ensure the support they receive is tailored for them and suits their individual needs and circumstances;
  • The service will offer pre-work support of 12-18 months;
  • The service will offer high quality in-work support for 12 months;
    Those who require specialist support to help them find work can expect to receive it;
  • There will be national standards to ensure everyone is supported
    consistently across the 9 geographic contract areas across Scotland;
  • For disabled customers who require intensive support, Supported
    Employment and Individual Placement and Support will be available.

On 4 October 2017 last year the Minister for Employability and Training, Jamie Hepburn MSP, announced the award of Contracts up to £96m to deliver Fair Start Scotland in nine Contract Areas across the country.

Delivering the £21.3 million service in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Borders will be Start Scotland Ltd, a private sector and third sector partnership comprising Momentum (Third Sector), Triage (Private) and Working Links (Private)

See Below:

Contract area Local authority Successful Bidder Delivery Partners/Sub Contracted Estimated Value (up to £ million)
1 – Glasgow Glasgow People Plus Group Ltd (Private)
  • Remploy (Supported Business)
  • Momentum (Third Sector)
  • The Lennox Partnership (Third Sector)
19.1
2 – Lanarkshire N Lanarkshire

S Lanarkshire

Remploy Limited (Supported Business)
  • ENABLE Scotland (Third Sector)
  • Routes to Work South (Third Sector)
12.6
3 – Tayside Angus

Dundee City

Perth and Kinross

Remploy Limited (Supported Business)
  • Rathbone (Third Sector)
  • The Wise Group (Third Sector)
  7.3
4 – Forth Valley Falkirk

Stirling

Clackmannanshire

Falkirk Council (Public Sector)
  • Falkirk Council (Public Sector)
  • Clackmannanshire Council (Public Sector)
  • Stirling Council (Public Sector)
  • NHS Forth Valley (Public Sector)
5.0
5 – East City of Edinburgh

East Lothian

Midlothian

Scottish Borders

West Lothian

Fife

Start Scotland Limited

(Private and Third Sector Partnership)

  • Momentum (Third Sector)
  • Triage (Private)
  • Working Links (Private)
21.3
6 – Southwest North Ayrshire

South Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

Dumfries and Galloway

Start Scotland Limited (Private and Third Sector Partnership)
  • Working Links (Private)
  • Rathbone (Third Sector)
  • The Lennox Partnership (Third Sector)
  • The Wise Group (Third Sector)
  10.1
7 – Northeast Aberdeen City

Aberdeenshire

Momentum Scotland (Third Sector)
  • Life Skills Centres Limited (Private)
  • ENABLE Scotland (Third Sector)
  • Aberdeen Foyer (Third Sector)
  • Scottish Association for Mental Health (Third Sector)
  • Enterprise Mentoring Ltd (Private)
5.6
8 – Highlands and Islands Argyll and Bute

Eilean Siar

Highland

Moray

Orkney Islands

Shetland Islands

People Plus Ltd (Private)
  • Argyll and Bute Council (Public Sector)
  • Life Skills Centres Ltd (Private)
  • Lochaber Hope (Third Sector)
  • Momentum Scotland (Third Sector)
  • Third Sector Hebrides (Third Sector)
  • 2020 Clearview Ltd (Private)
6.2
9 – West E Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

E Dunbartonshire

W Dunbartonshire

Inverclyde

 

The Wise Group (Third Sector)

  • Scottish Association for Mental Health (Third Sector)
  • The Lennox Partnership (Third Sector)
  • Working Links (Private)
  • ENABLE Scotland (Third Sector)
  • Royal National Institute for the Blind (Third Sector)
8.8

 

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Published by

davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer