Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Parmjit Dhanda (Labour). It was answered by Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) on Monday, 7 December 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Gloucester Works Project

Question: What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Gloucester Works project.

Answer: This is a good-quality project, providing support to unemployed people and businesses in Gloucester, and bringing together the public and private sectors to ensure that local communities benefit from regeneration. During the first phase of the Quays development, the project has delivered 236 jobs for local people, 67 per cent. of whom had previously been unemployed or facing redundancy. I was very pleased to see this for myself when I visited the project in October to meet people who have secured jobs thanks both to the investment Government are making and to the tireless work of their excellent local Member of Parliament.

Secondary information