Community Jobs Fund Scheme

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A decision made 2 September 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2013-0082
Decision Summary Title	Community Jobs Fund		Date of Decision Summary:	2 September 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Business Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title	Back to Work Community Jobs Fund Guidelines		Date of Written Report:	2 September 2013
Written Report Author:	Operations Director		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Community Jobs Fund
Decision(s): The Minister decided to implement a non statutory Community Jobs Fund Scheme to provide financial support to fully fund positions for up to six months for locally qualified young or long-term job-seekers who are employed by a charity or organisation providing a role offering a clear benefit to the community.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Community Jobs Fund targets those job seekers whose biggest barrier to employment is lack of experience and skills, and provides tangible benefits to the community as a whole. By providing funding for job seekers to undertake paid work the scheme offers the opportunity for candidates to learn new skills and gain valuable experience whilst assisting charities and organisations who most need their help. Organisations applying for positions using the fund will be able to select locally qualified candidates who are actively seeking work and are aged from 16 to 24 and have been unemployed for 6 months, or job seekers of any age who have been unemployed for a year or more. Providing that the role is eligible the Community Jobs Fund will fund up to a maximum of £5,424.47 (per role for each successful bid). This figure is based on an employee working 30 hours per week for 6 months. Funding may be provided for a minimum of 20 hours, up to a maximum of 30 hours per week, based on the number of hours the employee is contracted to work. In addition to paying the salary costs for Community Jobs Fund roles, funding may be available for an additional non-wage expenditure of up to £1,400 per role. This extra amount may be used to cover job specific requirements such as training or equipment. Jobs created under the Community Jobs fund should not replace existing vacancies and must clearly demonstrate additional benefit to the community.
Resource Implications: An initial budget of £350,000 has been allocated, approximately enough for the recruitment of 50 individuals into posts for 30 hours work per week during the period 2 September 2013 to 31 December 2015. This duration is in line with the Back to Work funding included in the Medium Term financial Plan 2013-2015 and may be extended subject to ongoing evaluation of the scheme. In addition, administrative and support staff will be required so that the scheme operates in an effective and efficient manner. Funding will be provided from the existing budget held by the Social Security Department for the Back to Work Programme.
Action required: Operations Director to implement the Community Jobs Fund Scheme.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):