Achieve North West

A consortium of the 5 North West Probation Trusts, headed by Merseyside Probation Trust successfully bid to deliver Round 1 of the NOMS ESF Project “Services to improve the employment prospects of offenders”.  The project has been named Achieve North West and runs in all 5 Probation Trusts and in 10 prisons across the region.  A total of £7.8m in funding is available with the project running until 31 December 2011.  More than 5,500 offenders will become participants during a 2 year period.

The delivery model focuses upon a case management approach to the offender journey towards employment, and is designed to bridge the gaps between offenders and existing mainstream education, skills and employment services. The project will complement rather than duplicate existing provision.

The consortium has recently successfully bid to deliver Round 2 of the project, which will extend delivery until December 2014, and will include an additional 6 prisons across the region.  Round 2 will also involve delivery of Belief in Change, a faith informed accredited programme, which will be delivered in HMP Risley.  Round 2 funding is over £10m across the region, and will involve over 8000 participants.

There is a regional team who work in Merseyside Probation Trust.  This comprises the project director, finance manager, two finance assistants and administrative support.  There is a project manager within each of the 5 trusts (2 in Merseyside).

Across the region there are a total of 42 case managers located in community and prison based settings.  Those in community settings are co-located within Local Delivery Units.  Within Cumbria case managers are located in the north ( Carlisle and Penrith), the south (Barrow and Kendal) and the west (Workington).

From November 2011 a case manager will also be based at HMP Haverigg 2 days per week.

Additionally Achieve North West works with 23 different subcontractors on both a regional and individual Trust basis.  These include a variety of voluntary and private sector organisations, as well as social enterprises. These providers deliver a range of interventions, all designed to assist participants on their journey towards employment.  Within Cumbria we will continue to work  in partnership with CROPT (Cumbria Reducing Offending Partnership Trust) into Round 2 and look forward to developing new partnerships with other organisations in the coming months.  On a regional level, Achieve North West works with a consortium of subcontractors who deliver employment brokerage.  These include CXL, Work Solutions and Connexions in Merseyside, Cheshire and Cumbria .

Contact Details:

Project Director - Chris Bennett

Tel:0151 920 9201 ext 620

 

Project Manager - Annette Nixon

Tel: 01229 820870

Cumbria Probation Trust, 10 Lawson Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 2LW