Business

Electric vehicle charging software company Fuuse has raised a further £6 million from its existing investors, Par Equity and YFM Equity Partners, as it accelerates growth and moves closer to profitability.

The Lancaster-based platform — which provides EV charge point management software and services — said the follow-on investment came at an increased valuation after the company more than doubled its recurring revenues since its previous funding round.

The new capital will be used to accelerate growth in key markets, expand customer support operations, and strengthen Fuuse’s position as one of the UK’s fastest-growing clean tech scale-ups.

“This is a huge endorsement of the team at Fuuse and our long-term strategy,” said Michael Gibson, CEO at Fuuse. “Taking this additional funding now gives us the resource to build on the great work the team has delivered and charge forward.”

Fuuse’s investors praised its momentum and leadership in the rapidly growing EV charging infrastructure market.

“As the EV charging market accelerates, Fuuse has cemented itself as a clear leader — trusted and valued by their clients,” said Alastair Moore, Investment Director at Par Equity.

“We back the North’s most ambitious businesses, and Fuuse is a standout example. After an exceptional period of growth, we’re proud to be continuing to support Mike and the Lancaster-based team as they power through the next stage of their journey.”

Jonathan Marlow, Partner at YFM Equity Partners, added: “Fuuse continues to go from strength to strength. The team has built a scalable platform that’s helping shape the future of EV charging infrastructure in the UK and beyond.
This follow-on investment reflects our continued confidence in both the business and its leadership as they deliver on their mission to make EV charging smarter, more efficient, and more accessible.”

Over the past 18 months, Fuuse has achieved a string of major milestones that underline its growing influence in the sector.

The company oversaw a nationwide public charge point rollout with Arnold Clark, the UK’s largest car dealership, and has been integral to the rapid expansion of charge point operator Be.EV. Fuuse has also expanded internationally, entering markets in Italy and Sweden.

In 2024, Fuuse acquired the assets of Everyday EV, allowing it to handle more than 150,000 driver support calls annually, providing real-world insights to improve charging reliability and enhance operator reputation.

The company was also recognised by GP Bullhound as one of the UK’s fastest-growing software firms, underscoring its rising profile in the EV and clean tech ecosystem.

Fuuse’s platform enables operators and businesses to manage charging networks efficiently — from fleet charging and billing to maintenance, analytics and driver experience. As the UK scales up to meet 2035’s zero-emission vehicle targets, demand for robust charging infrastructure software is soaring.

With its latest raise, Fuuse plans to continue refining its technology, expanding across Europe, and achieving profitability in the near term.

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Fuuse raises £6m as EV charge point platform powers toward profitability

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an additional £800 million to cover potential compensation claims related to the car finance mis-selling scandal, as the UK’s financial regulator finalises plans for a sweeping redress scheme.

The FTSE 100 lender said the provision “reflects the increased likelihood of a higher number of historical cases being eligible for redress” and a “higher level of redress than anticipated” under previous assumptions.

The move follows last week’s update from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which detailed how it plans to compensate drivers over historic commission arrangements between car dealers and lenders. The regulator estimates that the total cost of redress across the industry could reach £11 billion, making it one of the largest compensation schemes since the PPI scandal.

With the latest charge, Lloyds has now earmarked £1.95 billion in total to address potential claims. The group — one of the UK’s biggest car finance providers through its Black Horse brand — has been among the most exposed to the FCA investigation, which centres on discretionary commission models that may have incentivised brokers to increase interest rates for borrowers.

The watchdog is expected to publish its final decision on compensation later this year, after reviewing feedback from lenders and consumer groups. Analysts have warned that the scandal could weigh on bank earnings into 2026, with other major lenders including Barclays and Santander UK also expected to make additional provisions.

Lloyds said it continues to engage with the regulator and will update investors when the FCA provides greater clarity on the scale and timeline of redress.

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Lloyds sets aside extra £800m to cover car loan mis-selling fallout

The consortium behind PPE Medpro has announced its readiness to enter discussions with the company’s administrators to explore a possible settlement with the government, following the High Court’s ruling that the firm must repay £121.9 million for breaching its PPE contract with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

In a statement shared with Business Matters, a spokesperson for the consortium said: “The consortium partners of PPE Medpro are prepared to enter into a dialogue with the administrators of the company to discuss a possible settlement with the government.”

The announcement follows nearly five years of legal proceedings and mounting political pressure, with PPE Medpro having spent £4.3 million defending its position in court — and consistently maintaining that it delivered all 25 million gowns required by the £122 million contract.

Throughout the process, PPE Medpro offered to settle on a no-fault basis, including proposals to either remake the entire 25 million gown order or pay a £23 million cash equivalent. These offers, made repeatedly before, during, and even after the trial, were rejected by the DHSC.

By contrast, a separate £135 million claim the DHSC brought against Primerdesign Ltd was settled quietly for £5 million, on a no-fault basis, just weeks before trial.

Critics now argue that the government’s handling of the Medpro dispute has been inconsistent and politically charged, particularly as the gowns supplied by PPE Medpro — although found not to meet sterility requirements under a technical clause — were never suitable for NHS frontline use due to being single-bagged, a feature the DHSC reportedly failed to specify across all gown contracts at the time.

“This case has become a distraction from the real issue: the government’s inability to manage PPE procurement, usage, or resale,” said one industry observer.

An £85 million missed opportunity?

Significantly, PPE Medpro has long argued that the gowns — while not deployed by the NHS — were viable for use in non-sterile environments, and could have been resold internationally.

An independent expert valuation found the gowns could have been worth £85 million on the global market at the end of 2020. Yet the government made no attempt to resell or repurpose them, despite sitting on a decade’s worth of surplus gown stock and ultimately writing off nearly £10 billion of pandemic PPE.

Had the DHSC chosen to act, the net financial difference between contract cost and resale value would have been just £37 million — a fraction of the claim pursued in court.

On 2 October, Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled that PPE Medpro breached the contract by failing to prove that the gowns had undergone a validated sterilisation process, despite providing all delivery documentation and post-sterilisation test certificates.

The judge noted that the required documentation for radiation dose mapping — which the company later obtained after sending investigators to China — was not provided in time for trial. The failure, she ruled, constituted a technical breach of contract, and PPE Medpro was ordered to repay the full contract value.

Barrowman and Mone have slammed the ruling as a “travesty of justice” and accused the government of scapegoating them to deflect attention from its wider pandemic procurement failures.

PPE Medpro is now in administration, and it remains to be seen whether the consortium’s willingness to re-engage with the government will lead to a negotiated resolution — or further legal wrangling.

But as calls grow for transparency over the government’s own procurement decisions, the PPE Medpro saga is no longer just a legal dispute — it has become a symbol of the political and financial fallout of the UK’s Covid-era spending spree.

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PPE Medpro consortium signals willingness to settle as spotlight turns to government’s £85m missed resale opportunity

A senior industry figure has called on the Government to take robust retaliatory action against the European Union’s new trade restrictions on British steel, warning that they could devastate the UK’s manufacturing base.

Simon Boyd, managing director of Dorset-based structural steel company REIDsteel, urged ministers to impose reciprocal tariffs to protect UK producers, manufacturers and supply chains after Brussels announced plans to slash tariff-free quotas for British steel exports.

The EU’s new measures will halve the UK’s tariff-free quota for structural steel exports and impose a 50% tariff on all shipments exceeding that limit, as part of a wider package designed to curb imports of Chinese steel.

“The total EU market for structural steel is eight million tonnes per annum, of which the UK is currently granted a tariff-free quota of 108,000 tonnes — less than 2% of the market,” Boyd said.

“Conversely, the UK market is 800,000 tonnes per annum while EU producers enjoy a tariff-free quota of 680,000 tonnes, equivalent to 85% of the UK market. Hardly fair trade.”

Boyd, who earlier this year campaigned to save British Steel’s blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, said the proposed changes would leave British exporters “virtually shut out” of the European market while allowing EU producers near-unrestricted access to the UK.

“All UK producers will be impacted by this change in policy,” he said. “Not only will exports be hit, but we could see a flood of imported steel if we don’t tighten our own trading measures.”

He called for the Government to “react boldly” by either negotiating an exemption from the EU’s anti-dumping measures or threatening equivalent counter-tariffs to restore balance.

“The EU may need to prop up its own ailing steel sector and fight off Chinese dumping, but this cannot be at the expense of the UK,” he warned. “There is no time to lose.”

According to industry body UK Steel, the sector directly employs 36,800 workers and supports a further 46,000 jobs in its supply chain. It contributes £1.7 billion directly to the economy, £2.2 billion through its supply network, and adds £3.1 billion to the UK’s balance of trade.

Industry leaders fear that without decisive action, the EU’s new tariffs could accelerate the decline of Britain’s heavy industry and undermine the Government’s ambition to rebuild domestic manufacturing.

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Government urged to get tough with EU over new steel tariffs

Google may be required to overhaul the way its search engine operates in the UK after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it has granted the tech giant “strategic market status” (SMS) under the country’s new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA).

The landmark decision, announced on Friday, gives the CMA sweeping new powers to impose legally binding rules on Google’s search and advertising businesses — which together account for over 90% of all online searches in the UK.

While the designation is not a finding of wrongdoing, it allows regulators to step in later this year with potential measures aimed at increasing competition in digital markets.

Under its new status, Google could be required to offer users alternative search engines via “choice screens”, introduce greater transparency in how results are ranked, and provide publishers with more control over how their content is displayed or monetised online.

Will Hayter, who leads the CMA’s digital markets unit, said the move reflected the company’s long-established dominance.

“Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector, with more than 90 per cent of searches in the UK taking place on its platform,” Hayter said.

“Having taken into account feedback following our proposed decision, we have today designated Google’s search services with strategic market status.”

The CMA said its goal is to ensure “fairer competition and more choice for consumers”, while fostering innovation and reducing barriers for rivals to compete in the UK’s £20 billion online advertising market.

In response, Google said it would cooperate with the regulator but warned that heavy-handed or unclear rules could have the opposite effect, slowing innovation and harming UK competitiveness.

Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director for competition, said: “UK businesses and consumers have been amongst the first to benefit from Google’s innovations, often months before their European counterparts.

“Many of the ideas for interventions raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation.”

Sources told Business Matters that Google executives have grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of clarity over what interventions may follow. The company is concerned that sweeping or unpredictable rules could make it harder to invest and roll out new AI-driven features in the UK — a concern shared by other major tech firms observing the new regime.

The CMA will now consult on possible remedies, with proposals expected to be published later in 2025. These could include new transparency obligations for search ranking algorithms, restrictions on how data is shared across Google’s vast advertising ecosystem, and new oversight of how it integrates AI into its products.

Officials insist the purpose of the new regime is not to punish successful firms, but to ensure open digital markets that benefit both consumers and competitors.

“Our role is to promote competition and innovation, not to stifle it,” a CMA spokesperson said.

The move comes as the UK seeks to establish its own post-Brexit framework for Big Tech oversight, diverging from both the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the US Department of Justice’s more litigious approach.

With Google the first major company to be formally designated under the UK’s new rules, the outcome of the CMA’s next steps will be closely watched by global tech firms — including Meta, Amazon, and Apple — as Britain tests its new powers to rein in digital giants.

Read more:
Google could be forced to change search operations in the UK

The UK risks losing ground in the global race to harness artificial intelligence, with small businesses in particular falling behind their American counterparts, according to Debbie Weinstein, President of Google Europe.

Weinstein, who previously led Google’s UK and Ireland operations, said that while Britain remains an innovation hub, its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are slower to adopt AI — a gap that could limit productivity growth and wider economic gains.

“The biggest gap in terms of productivity-led growth is with the US,” Weinstein said. “If you look at what’s driven the US relative to the UK over the last ten years, a lot of the unlock that is missing in this country comes down to productivity.”

Research from Google suggests that AI-powered tools could increase productivity among UK SMEs by up to 20%, effectively giving employees an extra working day each week.

The company’s analysis estimates that AI adoption could unlock £200 billion in additional economic value for UK small businesses by the end of the decade.

SME leaders surveyed by Google believe the technology could boost revenues by an average of 30%, with the greatest benefits expected in customer service automation, marketing, and administrative tasks.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are really the lifeblood of the UK economy,” Weinstein said. “Whenever you talk to a small business owner they always tell you the one thing they struggle with is time.”

But she warned that businesses that fail to adapt risk being left behind.

“My biggest worry is that there’s this potential for growth — for each of these individual small businesses and for the economy overall — that isn’t realised because people don’t have the tools or the skills to take advantage of this opportunity.”

To help close the adoption gap, Google has launched the AI Works for Business programme in partnership with the Department for Business & Trade and NatWest.

The initiative will deliver a series of free in-person workshops across Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Cardiff over the next two months. Around 1,000 small business owners have already registered.

Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said the collaboration would help small firms gain vital practical skills.

“AI is transforming the way we work,” Kyle said. “This partnership with Google will give small businesses hands-on experience of how to capitalise on the many benefits of AI to innovate, grow, and compete on the global stage.”

Weinstein added that the workshops build on pilot programmes run earlier this year, where short training sessions significantly increased AI use among participants.

“What we found in those trainings is that a few hours of hands-on experience made all the difference,” she said. “When we did a couple of hours of training and went back, there was a doubling of the daily usage of AI.”

Google introduced Gemini, its generative AI chatbot, into its suite of productivity apps in February 2024, giving businesses access to AI-driven writing, data analysis and planning tools directly through Google Workspace.

However, while large corporations have integrated AI rapidly into operations, smaller firms have been slower to follow — often due to lack of awareness, cost barriers, or uncertainty about regulation.

Weinstein’s comments add to a growing debate over how Britain can close its AI productivity gap. Economists warn that while the technology could transform efficiency across industries, the benefits will only be realised if businesses adopt early and invest in digital skills.

“This isn’t about hype,” Weinstein said. “It’s about ensuring that small businesses — which make up the backbone of the UK economy — have the opportunity, confidence and support to use AI to their advantage.”

Read more:
UK falling behind in AI adoption, warns Google Europe chief

Royal Mail and TikTok Shop have announced a new partnership aimed at powering the next wave of growth for British small businesses and online sellers.

The collaboration, effective 9 October 2025, will see Royal Mail become TikTok Shop’s primary UK delivery partner, connecting one of Britain’s most trusted logistics networks with one of the world’s fastest-growing digital commerce platforms.

The move will give more than 200,000 UK-based TikTok Shop sellers access to Royal Mail’s full range of services – from parcel collections and tracked delivery to drop-off points and compensation cover – through a seamless integration designed to make online selling easier, faster, and more reliable.

TikTok Shop UK has seen triple-digit growth in 2024, as the platform’s blend of social content and e-commerce continues to attract creators, entrepreneurs, and established retailers.

By linking directly with Royal Mail, sellers across the country — from side hustlers to high street brands — will now be able to offer customers a greater choice of delivery options and enhanced reliability.

Royal Mail operates the UK’s largest parcel network, with almost 24,000 collection and drop-off points nationwide. This includes 8,000 Royal Mail Shop stores, 11,500 Post Office branches, 2,000 parcel lockers, 1,400 parcel postboxes, and 1,200 customer service points. Customers can also post smaller parcels via 115,000 standard postboxes and request proof of posting through the Royal Mail app.

Combined with Royal Mail’s ability to collect from every UK address, the deal gives TikTok Shop sellers what the companies call “the most comprehensive last-mile delivery network in the country”.

Jan Wilk, Head of TikTok Shop UK, said the partnership underlines the platform’s mission to help British entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

“Our goal is to provide British businesses with the tools they need to thrive. This partnership with Royal Mail combines our platform’s reach with a delivery network that is synonymous with trust and reliability,” Wilk said.

“Together, we are empowering sellers of all sizes to reach customers across the UK more efficiently than ever before.”

Saadi Al-Soudani, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail, said the partnership was a natural fit for both brands.

“We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with TikTok Shop and to support the incredible ecosystem of entrepreneurs on the platform,” he said.

“By becoming the primary carrier in the UK, we are making it easier for sellers to connect with their customers through our extensive and trusted nationwide network. This is about delivering growth for British businesses and providing the brilliant service their customers expect.”

The partnership represents a major boost for the UK’s fast-growing creator and small business economy, which has seen thousands of individuals turn to platforms like TikTok Shop to launch and scale e-commerce ventures.

Analysts say that integrating fulfilment and delivery through a national postal provider could streamline logistics for independent sellers and enhance consumer confidence in social commerce purchases.

As digital retail continues to evolve, the collaboration positions both TikTok Shop and Royal Mail at the centre of a growing movement that blends creativity, entrepreneurship, and e-commerce convenience.

Read more:
Royal Mail and TikTok Shop join forces to boost small British businesses

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB), announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024, is expected to be introduced this month.

The Bill is designed to build upon the existing Network and Information Systems Regulations to mitigate against increasingly dangerous cyber threats. Through expanded and strengthened regulations and compliance mechanisms, the bill will mark a significant moment of change in UK policy. With that in mind, here is your go-to guide to understanding the upcoming changes and challenges for UK businesses.

Why is the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill necessary?

In recent years, UK businesses and organisations have experienced a number of severe cyber-attacks and security breaches, exposing the flaws in the NIS Regulations from 2018. The need for better preparedness in the face of evolving cyber threats has never been clearer.

In April 2025, Marks and Spencer, the major British retailer, fell victim to a sophisticated ransomware attack, which brought online and in-app ordering, click-and-collect, contactless payments, and warehouse operations to a standstill. Customer details were also stolen. The attack took Marks and Spencer months to recover from and cost them an estimated £300 million in profits.

Another serious case came in June 2024, when cybercrime gang Qilin targeted NHS pathology provider Synnovis with a ransomware attack. The breach exposed 400GB of patient data, causing the cancellation of over 3,000 appointments. Investigations later linked it to 170 cases of compromised patient care and one associated death after testing services were disrupted.

These extremely damaging breaches exposed flaws in corporate and organisational cyber-security and have prompted a revision of UK cyber-security regulation.

What changes will the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill bring?

In brief, the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will improve upon NIS 2018 by widening the scope of regulations and granting the government and regulators greater powers.

NIS 2018 currently covers five sectors (transport, energy, drinking water, health, and digital infrastructure) and some digital services (online marketplaces, online search engines, and cloud computing services). The CSRB will extend regulation to Managed Service Providers, Data Centres and Designated Critical Suppliers. In practice, the supply chain services and data systems, like those relied on by the NHS and M&S, would be safeguarded, protecting customer and patient data as well as operations.

The CSRB also proposes aligning the National Cybersecurity Centre’s Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity’s guidance under NIS2 to be more specific and binding.

Strengthened incident reporting requirements are also planned, which will give the NCSC a better picture of the emerging and shifting threats to UK cybersecurity, enabling timely assistance where necessary and improved resilience.

The reporting is mainly required by the national authority, enhancing transparency requirements, providing regulators and NCSC with a better view of the evolving threat landscape, enabling timely assistance where necessary and improved resilience. In some cases, such as firms that provide digital services and data centres that experience a significant incident, they will also be required to alert customers who may be affected.

Finally, the Bill grants greater powers to the government and regulators, including proactive supervision of critical digital service providers and the ability for regulators to recover investigation and enforcement costs from compromised entities.

Leaders of Change

These newly proposed measures stand to revolutionise UK cybersecurity regulations, so it is advisable to be proactive in advance of the Bill’s discussion in Parliament. Here are some companies looking ahead.

One sector that increasingly suffers cyber threats is banking. An EY study suggests that in 2025, banks will have to allocate 11% of their IT budget to cybersecurity, so efficient mitigation is key. Pioneering cybersecurity in this sector is Lloyds Banking Group, which has recently patented a cybersecurity tool called the Global Correlation Engine that leverages AI and ‘intelligent algorithms’ to identify genuine cybersecurity threats, rather than false positives. This forward-thinking technology will stand them in good stead for when the CSRB arrives.

Sharp UK and Dahua Technology are also proactively positioning themselves for when the CSRB comes into force. Sharp UK supports organisations with their technology requirements, and Dahua Technology provides world-leading video-centric AIoT solutions and services. For both Sharp UK and Dahua, reliability and resilience of their systems are paramount, and therefore, both corporations have acquired  ISO27001:2022, the latest internationally recognised standard for information security management systems. This places both companies in a strong position, one which regulators and clients will hold in high regard when CSRB is implemented.

It is clear that cybersecurity is more important than ever before, and businesses that strengthen their systems now will be better prepared for the advent of the CSRB. Taking a proactive approach not only reduces risk but also builds long-term resilience.

Read more:
Looking Ahead to the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill: what UK companies need to know

Jack Fertility, an Oxford-based men’s healthtech startup, has raised more than £500,000 in pre-seed funding to launch Snip Check, the UK’s first home-to-lab postal vasectomy test kit, and accelerate development of its broader range of male reproductive health solutions.

The round was led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Microsoft angels, Alma Angels, The Beam Network, Moonstone Venture Capital, FemTech Lab, Founders Factory’s Reckitt Benckiser Accelerator, and the Oxford Seed Fund.

Co-founded by Nick Shipley and Lily Elsner, Jack Fertility aims to normalise sperm testing and make male reproductive health accessible, private, and stigma-free.

The company’s first product, Snip Check, tackles a long-overlooked issue in post-vasectomy care. Research suggests that over 40% of men skip vital follow-up appointments due to embarrassment or the inconvenience of returning to a clinic.

Jack Fertility’s at-home postal kit enables men to discreetly confirm the success of their vasectomy using a Royal Mail postbox and receive clinic-grade results from the company’s Oxford laboratory.

“By using the Royal Mail postbox network and our proprietary tech, it’s like putting a male fertility clinic on every street across the UK,” said Lily Elsner, Co-founder of Jack Fertility. “We’re empowering men to take control of their reproductive health and get actionable insights about their fertility, all without ever setting foot in a clinic.”

The funding will also accelerate work on Jack Fertility’s flagship home-to-lab semen analysis kit, powered by a proprietary sperm preservation solution that ensures accurate, lab-quality results from postal samples.

Male factors account for around half of all infertility cases and are the leading reason couples undergo IVF treatment, yet testing remains underused and under-discussed.

Jack Fertility’s founders say their mission is to make sperm testing as routine as blood pressure checks.

“The stigma around male fertility has meant too many men avoid getting checked,” said Nick Shipley, Co-founder. “Our postal vasectomy kit removes the traditional barriers and awkwardness of a clinic visit, giving men a simple and accessible way to engage with their reproductive health. We’re not just offering a test; we’re empowering men to take control of their sperm health.”

Mark Pearson, Founder of Fuel Ventures, said the firm’s investment reflects confidence in Jack Fertility’s potential to lead a new category in men’s health.

“At Fuel, we back ambitious founders solving real, everyday problems with innovative, scalable solutions – and Jack Fertility is a prime example,” he said.

“Male reproductive health has long been hidden behind stigma and awkwardness, and Jack Fertility is changing that by making testing accessible, private and normalised. We’re proud to support Nick and Lily as they bring their first product to market and build a category-defining healthtech business.”

With its pre-seed investment secured, Jack Fertility will focus on the commercial launch of Snip Check and the development of its semen analysis platform, which aims to become the benchmark for at-home male fertility testing in the UK and beyond.

By combining cutting-edge laboratory science with discreet home testing, the company hopes to redefine how men engage with reproductive healthcare — making it convenient, data-driven, and stigma-free.

Read more:
Jack Fertility Secures £500k Pre-Seed Funding to Launch Home-to-Lab Test Kits and Redefine Male Reproductive Health

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has secured £5.8 million in government funding to help residents who face barriers to employment find and sustain meaningful work.

The funding will support the launch of Connect to Work, a new voluntary programme designed to provide up to 12 months of tailored, one-to-one vocational support for people who are unemployed or at risk of losing their job.

Delivered by Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB), the council’s employment and skills service, the scheme is expected to support more than 1,500 people across the borough over the next five years.

Connect to Work is aimed at people who struggle to find work due to health conditions, disabilities, or personal circumstances. It will offer practical and personalised support to help individuals build confidence, develop skills, and access sustainable employment.

The programme is open to residents aged 18 and over who meet one or more of the following criteria:
• Living with a physical or mental health condition or long-term disability
• Ex-offenders or carers/ex-carers
• People affected by homelessness or substance dependency
• Refugees, resettled Afghans or Ukrainians
• Survivors of domestic abuse or modern slavery
• Armed Forces veterans or care leavers
• Young people at risk of serious violence

Residents can be referred by health practitioners or self-refer directly to the scheme.

Councillor Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy, Business, Skills and Greenwich Supports, said the programme will make a tangible difference to those struggling to find work.

“Our mission is that everyone has the opportunity to secure a good job. By providing tailored and individual support, Connect to Work will help overcome barriers experienced by some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and give them a helping hand to find sustained employment,” she said.

Councillor Mariam Lolavar, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Borough of Sanctuary, added that helping residents into work also improves wellbeing and social inclusion.

“Finding suitable job opportunities for people with disabilities and complex needs will not only help them with a regular income – it will have a positive impact on well-being by expanding social connections and bringing a sense of achievement,” she said.

Connect to Work forms part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Get Britain Working Plan, complementing two existing initiatives already active in the borough:
• The Restart programme, launched in 2021, has supported 1,496 people who have been unemployed for nine months or longer.
• The Trailblazer initiative, introduced in June 2024, has already created 24 paid placements for young people not in education or training, care leavers, and unpaid carers.

GLLaB will continue to provide employment support for residents not eligible for Connect to Work, helping people at all stages of their career — from those seeking their first job to professionals looking to retrain or return to work.

Councillor Smith said the service’s partnership approach remained key to its success.

“We’ve seen great results through programmes like Restart and Trailblazer, and we’re confident Connect to Work will build on that success,” she added.

For more information about Connect to Work, visit Connect to Work – Local London

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Royal Borough of Greenwich secures £5.8m to help residents facing barriers into work