As co-chair of our Learning Difficulty Partnership one of our key goals is to get people with LD into real jobs and work with employers to show them that such workers are as productive and valuable to the workforce as others.

After a very good visit from the Cincinatti hospital and project search we are now moving forward on several fronts.

1. We are working with a specialist recruitment advisor

2. As part of Valued in Public we are putting on in the Guildhall a whole day to encourage departments and organisations in the public sector to set goals and aspirations to employ people from this section of the workforce.

3. Starting our own Search project. We will have a class at the RUH (workforce 5000) operated by the Fosseway school with 12 young people from a variety of schools working and learning job skills on site so that the RUH can find top quality staff. Similar schemes in America place 85% of pupils into work.

4.  Creating a Family Lead Jobs project with Norton Radstock College

5.  At the beginning of May putting on a special day for families and helpers to understand self-directed job searching.

People with a Learning Disability have the worst job prospects in the country and the highest unemployment rate. Hopefully with some of these measure we will start to turn this statistic round in B&NES.  It is certainly a major aim for our Partnership Board. Whilst the Government is deservedly getting stick at present on misuse of the public purse in many areas its work on Valuing People is good and deserves credit and promotion.