Leicester left out of £338m sick and disabled jobs fund: "Yet again our great city has been overlooked"

Leicester, one of the UK cities hardest hit by long-term sickness, has been left out of the government’s new £338 million Connect to Work expansion.

The programme will provide intensive coaching and job-matching for 85,000 sick and disabled people across 15 areas of England, but Leicester is not among them — despite having around 16,800 residents classed as long-term sick and an economic inactivity rate of 28.4%, far above the national average of 21.2%.

This exclusion raises questions over whether the city’s most vulnerable residents are being left behind.

Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton commented: “Yet again our great city and county has been overlooked by Central Government. Leicester and Leicestershire already receive less funding per pupil than the national average, and now we’re being left out of vital employment support despite having some of the highest levels of long-term economic inactivity in the country.”

Mary Maguire, Managing Director at Derby-based Astute Recruitment Ltd commented: “Leicester been sent to Coventry by the Government and excluded from the latest support scheme for the disadvantaged jobless, which is ridiculous. Another example of playground politics ignoring the fact that Leicester and the wider county are one of the worst affected by long-term economic activity in the UK.”