Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Peter Bone (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 7 December 2006 on behalf of the Treasury.

Unemployment

Question: Last year, unemployment increased in 527 constituencies across the United Kingdom. In Wellingborough, unemployment increased by 17.6 per cent. There are, and I have checked my figures, more people unemployed in Wellingborough today than there were nine years ago. Is this ““here today, gone tomorrow”” Chancellor proud of that record?

Answer: I know more about Wellingborough than almost any other constituency in the country. The claimant count is down from 1,856 in May 1997 to 1,535 now. Youth unemployment in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency is down by 47 per cent. since 1997, and adult unemployment is down by 71 per cent. The count on employment shows that not a few hundred but several thousand new jobs have been created in his constituency since the last election. I hope that the hon. Gentleman is more serious about creating jobs in the future. On April 15 2005, he said this in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, ““We want to get rid of red tape, but if that means unemployment, I am sorry, they will get another job. We are not here to create jobs.”” I hope that he will support us on the new deal.

Secondary information