Big Lottery funding (‘Opt-In’) will support the delivery of Strategic Activity 15.
Eligible activities and target audiences for TO9 are set out below.
Eligible activities
- Tackling barriers to work.
- Complementing and adding value to other services and funds locally, especially helping those with more complex barriers move closer to employment.
- Tackling barriers to work in a holistic and integrated way, including through supporting early action before problems become entrenched, outreach activities and access to locally provided services. This may include additional issues such as: English languages skills; family, parenting and relationship intervention; access to flexible and affordable childcare, health problems (including mental health); homelessness; life skills; and access to transport.
- Providing additional and/ or more intensive and flexible support identified by Universal Credit Local Support Service partnerships and health and wellbeing boards. This may include actions to help Universal Credit claimants progress into the labour market, support their career progression (better pay/ work/ hours), and move from the hidden economy to legitimate work.
- Supporting early interventions for young people.
- Supporting specific activities to combat discrimination of groups with protected characteristics in the labour market, and promote equal opportunities.
- Targeting specific communities or ethnic minorities with high levels of poverty and social exclusion.
- Helping grow the social investment market to support social enterprises and the social economy.
- Developing the capacity of social entrepreneurs to address the needs of their local communities.
- Supporting bottom-up active inclusion activity in particular geographic locations, for example, through Community Led Local Development.
- Supporting local ‘Community Grant’ type activity.
- Supporting activities that are designed to promote social inclusion whilst also tackling environmental issues such as environmental protection, waste recycling, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
- Promote a dynamic and inclusive rural economy with fair access to services and basic amenities
- Developing the capacity of community groups to participate in the delivery of services to those furthest from the labour market.
- Encouraging Social Investment models by providing (matched) outcome funding that enables payment by results programmes to be established (Social Impact Bonds).
- Capacity-building for non-governmental organisations (i.e. Civil Society), to encourage adequate participation of and access by non-governmental organisations to actions supported by the European Social Fund, notably in the fields of social inclusion, gender equality and equal opportunities
Target audiences
- People living in the D2N2 area who experience poverty and / or social exclusion due to physical disabilities, learning difficulties, mental health problems, alcohol and substance misuse, other forms of ill-health, history of offending behaviour or multiple or complex needs.
- People living in the D2N2 area who face barriers to employment, including low levels of literacy numeracy and IT skills, low educational attainment and qualifications, lack of employment experience and/or poor work history, caring responsibilities, lack of stable housing, limited access to transport, digital exclusion, or multiple barriers.
- People living in troubled families.
- Care leavers.
- Young people who are not in Education, Employment or Training.