WIREDGOV

‘Team Scotland’ approach pays dividends.

A new facility with a combined workforce of 100 people, of whom 95 are disabled people, has been officially opened by Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

The Haven Enterprises site in Larbert brings together three supported businesses and a Centre for Training Excellence in one building.

The Scottish Government has contributed £1.78m to enable the purchase of the site and allocated £168,000 to Falkirk council to support the training centre. Falkirk Council has invested £2m for the transfer of the factory building, relocating the Council’s former Sign Factory business and formation of a national training centre of excellence.

The Haven site is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to help those who were made redundant following the UK Government’s decision to close Remploy factories which resulted in more than 270 job losses for people with disabilities in Scotland.

Following the closure of the Remploy factories and businesses in Scotland, the Remploy Stakeholders Advisory Group was established and chaired by Business Minister Fergus Ewing. They worked with Haven, a leading not-for-profit organisation providing rehabilitation, training and care services for disabled and socially excluded people throughout the UK. Mr Ewing established a ‘Team Scotland’ group to offer support to this possible opportunity.

The formal opening of Haven Enterprises Larbert marks the success of this work.

Team Scotland Key Partners were the Scottish Government, Haven, Falkirk Council, BASE Scotland, Momentum Skills and Scottish Enterprise with NHS Scotland, and Social Firms Scotland also being involved.

The new facility is located at Central Business Park, Larbert. In recent months this site has enabled business expansion by Alexander Dennis Ltd, Malcolm Allan, Mrs Tillys and Haven, helping to create or sustain over 400 new jobs.

The Deputy first Minister Mr Swinney said yesterday:

“The Scottish Government is firmly committed to equality for disabled people and are striving to create a Scotland that is fair and inclusive to all. A crucial part of enabling people to play a full and satisfying role in their communities is employability.

“When the UK Government closed Remploy in 2012 hundreds of disabled people were left without employment or prospects. The Scottish Government committed to step in and do all it could to help those in need. Today’s opening of the new facility is another major step in our vow of support.

“The Team Scotland approach has demonstrated what can be achieved when people work together – public sector, private business and third sector – to achieve a common good. This way of working is very much the way forward, and I’d like to congratulate all partners for their enthusiasm and professionalism throughout a complicated process.”

Councillor Craig Martin, Leader of Falkirk Council, said:

“The Falkirk Council area is a great place to locate and this factory is a shining example of our ongoing economic transformation. It also clearly shows the full and equal contribution that disabled people make in the workplace and I would like to wish all the employees well in this new venture.

“Falkirk Council is proud of the role it has had in working with the Scottish Government and Haven to establish this facility and the new Centre of Excellence in Larbert. The Council is committed to the long-term success of the project and to enabling disabled people to play a full part in workplaces across our area and we are already providing support through the award of contracts for services.”

David Whyte, Chief Operations Officer, Haven Enterprises, said yesterday:

“Throughout its history, Haven has had a very simple objective of continually striving to create as many sustainable employment opportunities for disabled people as possible. The last two years has seen significant growth in the breadth and scope of our businesses that compete in a commercially competitive environment through the delivery of high quality, cost effective products and services.

“Today’s opening is the culmination of this growth and this would not have been possible without the support of our partners and Haven would like to particularly thank the Scottish Government and Falkirk Council for all their support and foresight in developing this project that will benefit our employees and customers.

“The future is bright for Haven and we look forward to continuing to work with both national and local businesses and partners to continue to create new employment opportunities for people across communities in Scotland.”