Mayor calls for regional control of job centres

Andy Burnham put the proposal to work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall on a visit to charity Loaves and Fishes

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called on the government to hand control of running job centres to the region.

He has laid out plans for "trusted" community groups to deliver support for job seekers as they try to get more people back to work.

Mr Burnham, who outlined the proposal to the work and pensions secretary during a visit to Salford, called the current system a "tick-box regime" which leaves many without help.

A spokesman for Liz Kendall's department said the government planned to reform job centres and give "local areas the power they need to tackle economic inactivity".

Wayne said the charity that helped him should be getting state funding.

Mr Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester he wanted the powers and budget from central government to turn job centres into "live well" centres that would address the root causes of unemployment.

He said it would offer a "whole-person approach" on issues like health, housing and benefits advice.

The mayor said the model has been inspired by Loaves and Fishes, which runs a drop-in centre for vulnerable people, give out free meals, housing advice, and addiction support.

Wayne, a recovering addict who has been helped by the charity, said he would have been "dead six years ago" without their help.

"I was homeless, I had nowhere to go, no-one to speak to, and then someone directed me to Loaves and Fishes," he said.

"I got treated like a human being not jut some scum on the street. They gave me clothes, they gave me a shower, they gave me food – it’s unbelievable.

"Places like this should be government-funded, not having to go cap in hand for funding from other organisations".

Salford's Loaves and Fishes charity supports vulnerable people

Speaking at the event, Ms Kendall said she wanted to give "more powers to local areas" as they "know best what they need".

"It’s all about how do we join it up, and give local leaders more power and control, but in the end, if you don’t listen to what people are saying about their lives, then you won’t get it right," she said.

The government has set a long-term target of an 80 per cent employment rate.

Ms Kendall wants to merge the National Careers Service and Jobcentre Plus in England, Scotland and Wales, to get more people into work and support people to find better paid jobs.

Mr Burnham said his proposal for local control of the system would see 150,000 people gain employment in the next five years.

He said he wanted to channel the cash through groups like the Salford charity who would "do a better job of getting more people into work".

This in turn would save the taxpayer by cutting costs for the benefit system and the NHS, he added.