Community members working in supported businesses can breathe a sigh of relief today as the government have agreed to provide additional funding to those businesses that are currently part of the workchoice protected places scheme.
Community members have long been lobbying both the Scottish government and the UK government to ensure this invaluable funding scheme continues. We are glad that they finally listened, and that additional funding provision has been made but there is still a great deal to do to ensure disabled people are provided meaningful, sustainable employment.
Commenting on this breakthrough for the workforce he represents, Steven Mcgurk, RSBi Community Branch Secretary said:
“Today’s announcement is good news for supported businesses like RSBi Glasgow and many others across the UK. The government funding is a lifeline for supported
businesses and their workers. These are businesses that provide meaningful, sustainable employment to thousands of people who may otherwise struggle to find work and the government should be helping them to do so.”
“While we are delighted by the government’s decision to increase funding to the Supported Business Framework, we are also keen for the government to encourage more and increasingly varied opportunities for disabled people to enter employment.”
“I’d like to thank both Paul Sweeney and Jenny Mara for everything they did to raise awareness of the real threat that supported businesses were facing, and for calling for the funding to remain in place”.