Following the Cabinet meeting held in Southampton in the morning of Monday 23 February, various ministers visited organisations in the city - one of which was Wheatsheaf Trust. Rt Hon Tony McNulty, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, toured the Employment Access Centre in Bernard Street and the construction skills workshop in the basement, talking to staff and clients.

Our Chief Executive, Jonathan Cheshire, commented, ‘We’re very encouraged by the progress the Department of Work and Pensions has made over the last couple of years in its method of contracting to the voluntary sector. We’re very grateful for the Minister’s time on Monday. He seemed impressed with our services and we were able to impress upon him the importance of further flexibilities in the system given the current rising unemployment rate.’

 The Minister is pictured in the Employment Access Centre talking to the Chief Executive, Jonathan Cheshire, and Employment and Training Advisor, Jon Felmingham, before meeting clients. The second photo shows the Minister touring the construction skills workshop.