A PILOT scheme launched in Burnley is set to guarantee work for the long-term unemployed.

The Step-Up scheme is aimed at getting people off benefits and back into work.

The scheme was launched by Lord Clarke at the Burnley jobcentre on Friday.

It will provide skills to get a job along with a work record and the discipline of going to work.

It will be compulsory for those claiming jobseekers allowance and who have taken part in the New Deal scheme and remained out of work six months after finishing in that scheme.

The Step-Up scheme will be voluntary for those claiming income support and the over 50s.

Launching the scheme Lord Clarke said: "This builds on the success of the New Deal Scheme to give more intensive help to those people who have not been able to find work. Employers and employees stand to benefit from this step.

"It's good to see there is intensive help for those relatively few people who have not been able to find work."

The scheme will be run through jobcentres in partnership with local employers and the borough council.

The first six pilot schemes were launched last May and the Burnley scheme is one of a further 14 being rolled out between June and December.

The regeneration of Burnley's economy, including getting more people into work, was identified as one of the key issues in the Task Force report, headed by Lord Clarke, which followed last summer's riots.

A similar job help scheme has been launched in Oldham, another town affected by disorder last year.