£50,000 jobs bonanza

A £50,000 council loan is to help former Remploy staff back into work.

Oldham Cabinet granted the one-off loan to 4D Enterprises to allow unemployed Oldhamers - most with disabilities and learning difficulties - to work again.

The social enterprise set up on the Trent industrial estate in Shaw to make windows - and took on 22 former Remploy staff after the Bardsley company closed last August.

The council is supporting the scheme as part of its Get Oldham Working programme.

Council leader Jim McMahon said £50,000 to keep 22 people in work is less than putting 22 people on benefits.

“Pound for pound it is a better option - we will get the loan back with interest,” he said.