Helping hands for job victims

摘要

The credit crunch has forced under-pressure councils to assume yet more responsibility for residents threatened with job cuts and soaring costs. Bradford City Council moved to allay fears of local job cuts at Bradford & Bingley, after the bank was part nationalised. The council is working with Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, to retrain any staff laid off. The council and RDA are also working with neighbouring Calderdale and Leeds to prop up the vital financial services sector in the region. Other major banks are based locally, including HBOS, which was the subject of a recent buy-out. Officials from Yorkshire Forward were due to attend a meeting between Yorkshire MP, Rosie Winterton, and chancellor, Alistair Darling, on 1 October, at which they would seek government assurances that local jobs would be safe-guarded.