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Economic Downturn (Unemployment)

I am not sure that I agree. When I look at the market town communities of Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, I see many similarities—a regional character and a branding of the region that is successful for south-west tourism. We all have in common our dependency on the tourism economy to some extent—we have been depending on it quite a lot this summer. Despite our differences, there is a lot that we can achieve together and we all share a desire for good jobs, good schools and good hospitals. My task as regional Minister is clear: to champion the south-west, to make sure that the world knows our talents, to make the most of our resources, and encourage new business and new jobs. At the moment my top priority is helping the families and businesses in the south-west to survive the recession. As a result of the biggest global recession for 60 years, people’s jobs and livelihoods have been affected and we need to fight back. Unlike the party opposite—in this chamber perhaps I should say at 160°—we do not believe that unemployment is a price worth paying. That is why we have taken action to support people who lose their jobs to get back into work as quickly as possible. That means doing everything we can to support our existing businesses and to attract new industry—to not just survive the recession but to thrive post-recession. That is why the Government introduced a range of measures to help businesses survive the downturn and come through it in a stronger shape. Those measures range from actions to ensure businesses get the finance that they need by establishing the enterprise finance guarantee, for example, through to helping businesses with tax bill payment issues and providing them with a business link health check that is helping many of them. In my role as chair of the regional economic task group, I have been working with agencies throughout the south-west to deal with the impact of the recession, particularly on employment and skills.