A £10 million government funding package has been announced to help unemployed people in York and North Yorkshire return to work.

The program was announced alongside the Government White Paper Get Britain Workingwith the area being chosen as one of eight across the country where a trial of ways to help people return to work will be launched.

The York and North Yorkshire program should focus on improving support for people who are out of work due to ill health. David Skaith, the region’s elected mayor, said the money would be used to “test new approaches”.

But what about the people most likely to be affected? People at Jobcentre Plus in Monkgate in York spoke to the BBC about the problems they are facing and asked whether they think the new project will help them return to work successfully.

Caitlin O’Brien-Lowe, from Manchester, had turned up for her appointment at the job center.

“I need help finding work,” the 25-year-old said.

“I have fibromyalgia, which is chronic pain, so I have pain everywhere in my body.

“This can make it very difficult to find a job, so I need help.”

Caitlin said she would “take anything” in terms of work, but an administrative or office job would suit her best.

“But I’m at the point where I just need a job,” she said.

When accessing help, Caitlin said she thought the many referrals she received could have been made to the Job Center itself, to make things easier.

She said she was also nervous about speaking freely, in case a decision was made against her and staff didn’t believe she was sick.

“It can be really intimidating to walk in – and you feel judged,” Caitlin added.

“It can be difficult having to go in and you feel like if you say the wrong thing your money could be taken away.”

She hoped the £10 million package for York and North Yorkshire would help “create a less judgmental environment where people feel safer to open up”.

Michelle, from Acomb in York, had arrived at the Job Center for a meeting about the move to universal credit.

She has suffered from ME, a chronic fatigue disease, for around 27 years, which requires her to use an electric wheelchair to get around.

“No one at this job center understands what it is or how it affects me,” the 49-year-old said.

“If they force me to do any level of activity, I could end up bedridden, unable to speak and unable to chew food.

“A lot of people like me spend decades in bed staring at a wall. It’s like living like you’re dead.”

Michelle said she had been out of work since 1997, when her condition worsened, but lived in fear of being declared healthy.

“The reason I’m in this motorized chair is because when I got the disease, people didn’t believe that a 21-year-old could be so seriously ill and I was forced to try too hard ” she said.

“Since my disability developed, I felt like if I engaged in any level of activity I would be punished: my wheelchair would be taken away, my benefits would be taken away and they would see it as an opportunity to declare I am able to work or say that my illness is not real.

Michelle added that because of this, she spent her life “just existing.”

“It’s like a Department for Work and Pensions prison that I live in because of my beliefs,” she said.

“I feel like I can’t work with them. I can’t trust them and I can’t be myself without something horrible happening.”

Geoffrey Horner, from York, showed up for his job center appointment looking for help finding a job.

The 57-year-old said he had been unemployed since being diagnosed with cancer, but was “getting better all the time”.

“They’re absolutely nice people,” he said of the staff.

“I struggle with technology, medication and my memory – and they have all helped me a lot. I have nothing but respect for them.”

Geoffrey said he hoped to find a job in horticulture, which he has done all his life.

“But it depends on whether my health allows me to do it again,” he said.

“It would be full time, maybe in a garden center, but not as physical as before.”

The government said its Get Britain Working white paper would increase the size of Britain’s workforce through the “biggest employment reforms in a generation”.

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith said the funding was a “great opportunity”.

“We are incredibly excited and passionate about bringing this pioneer to York and North Yorkshire and helping people get healthy and back to work.”

The BBC has contacted the Department for Work and Pensions for comment.

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