Marches Mental Health Service proves to be Centre of Excellence

June 15, 2020

A charity which works with the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership to help people overcome barriers to education, training and employment has become the first in the country to gain centre of excellence status for one its services.

Sonia Roberts
Sonia Roberts

Landau Ltd is the first NHS Wave 2 funded site to achieve the status in the UK for a programme which supports people with enduring mental health issues.
The Herefordshire Individual Placement and Support (HIPS) service is provided by Landau, who have 25 years experience working with employers and employees, in collaboration with Herefordshire Mental Health and Learning Disability Service.
HIPS launched in April 2019 and covers the whole of Herefordshire, delivering support to unemployed adults who are experiencing a mental health barrier.
Specialists help people with severe mental health difficulties into employment, offering intensive, individual support, a rapid job search followed by placement in paid employment and time-unlimited, in-work support for both the employee and the employer.
Landau CEO Sonia Roberts – a Marches LEP board member – said: “Landau is proud to announce that as a result of the brilliant work of the HIPS team Landau is recognised as an ‘IPS Centre of Excellence’ demonstrating a high quality in their IPS model and the job outcomes they achieve for people with severe and enduring mental illness and/or other complex health conditions.
“This recognition is most timely as we prepare staff for the huge demand in our services following the coronavirus epidemic. It is predicted that a vast number of people will look to access mental health service and employment support. Landau is in a brilliant position to deliver both.”
The Landau HIPS team has demonstrated areas of excellent practice including client-focused job search, supervision, integration and quality of employer engagement, as measured by the IPS fidelity scoring process.
The employment specialists on the team work with their clients to determine their job preferences and develop working relationships with local employers to facilitate the right employment for their client that is both sustainable, and in a competitive employment environment.
Diane Topham, Deputy Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities in Herefordshire said: “We are proud to be in partnership with Landau in providing this important service to our service users. The HIPS workers are fully integrated and are valued members of the mental health teams.”
Landau are currently piloting a young persons service across the Marches aiming to become the first Young Persons IPS service provider in the UK.

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The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has now ceased trading and transferred all its functions to Shropshire Council working with Telford & Wrekin Council and Herefordshire Council, in line with the UK Government's plans for devolution.

The Marches LEP was established in 2011 and hands over an impressive legacy from its 13-year life. In that time the LEP invested over £196m in projects across the Marches, securing in excess of £100m of match funding and supported more than 66,000 business interactions.

The schemes supported have made tangible differences to local communities, increasing skills, creating jobs and improving the physical appearance of many towns.

We would like to thank all the LEP Board Members who have given their time freely over the life of the LEP, as well as all the staff who worked for the LEP over the years. We also want to thank our delivery partners, local education providers and local, regional and national stakeholders who helped us achieve so much.

The Marches Growth Hub will continue to support businesses and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Each of the three Local Authorities will also continue to provide direct business support locally. Details of this support will be available through the Marches Growth Hub website and from the Local Authorities directly. Website: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk | email: enquiries@marchesgrowthhub.co.uk.

The Marches Careers Hub will continue to be delivered and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Website: www.marchescareershub.co.uk | email: info@marchescareershub.co.uk

For any queries about Getting Building Fund (GBF), Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Marches Investment Fund (MIF) projects supported by the Marches LEP please contact: gary.spence@shropshire.gov.uk

For any finance queries please contact: michelle.hodgkiss@shropshire.gov.uk

The solvent liquidation of the Marches LEP is being managed by the Evelyn Partners Limited. For any matter related to this please contact: Camilla.Mulholland@evelyn.com

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