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Economic Downturn (Unemployment)

I beg your pardon, Mr. Key. I apologise for that and I hope that people can now hear me more clearly. The hon. Member for Torbay has unemployment figures of 4.4 per cent., which is higher than the average in the region. However, the variance is 75.3 per cent., so looking only at variants in unemployment figures is slightly misleading and I am sure that he will take that point on board, while recognising the importance of keeping unemployment as low as possible. The hon. Member for Torbay also raised his concerns about the need to incentivise people to get off benefits and into work. That is something that the Government clearly recognise and work hard to try to achieve. He also referred to water charges in the south-west, which is something that my colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are particularly concerned about.