AN INITIATIVE to support workers facing insolvency-related redundancies has helped more than 3,100 people across the region since it launched in April 2011.

Phil Wilson, Labour MP for Sedgefield, brought together a partnership involving insolvency trade body R3, Jobcentre Plus and the Insolvency Service to help find alternative employment for those made redundant.

Insolvency practitioners provide an early warning to Jobcentre Plus and the Insolvency Service as soon as they think there are likely to be more than 20 redundancies from a given company, so that preparations can be made to help those affected.

Both the previous Labour Government and the present coalition signed up to the agreement, and a new report into the scheme’s impact so far has revealed that it has helped 100,519 people across 743 UK businesses who had faced redundancy as a consequence of insolvency.

The scheme’s regional impact was illustrated when 70 jobs at a consultancy and outsourcing company in Northumberland were lost when it went into administration, at which point the insolvency practitioner called Jobcentre Plus for their help. This allowed Jobcentre Plus to go on site and identify suitable vacancies for the redundant workforce.

At the meeting, a number of employees took the offer of training and 15 staff found employment that day.

Wilson said: “Losing a job is one of the most difficult situations people can face and it is essential that they receive the correct information at the right time to help them find new employment. Helping over 100,000 people in the last three years is an excellent achievement.

“And it shows what can be accomplished through partnership working, without resorting to additional regulation.”

Steve Ross, chair of R3 in the North East, added: “While the economic climate remains uncertain, it has never been so important for insolvency practitioners to be able to work with expert Government agencies to ensure that those facing redundancy are given as much support as possible.”