There are some pretty horrible things that go on in the world. Atrocities in Syria, war in Yemen, displaced refugees in their millions across the globe. Where people have been victimised, it has been by despotic regimes, terrorists and war.
Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics show that the total number of unemployed claimants in Wyre Forest constituency in August 2016 was 743.
IN the post Brexit referendum UK, economic indicators seem to be showing mixed signals. It is, of course, far to early to be able to tell what effect, both in the short term and in the long term, the exit vote will bring.
The Parliamentary summer recess creates an open period when there is no real news. With the absence of proper news (and thank goodness for the Olympics this year), the media focuses on other stories in what becomes known as the “Silly Season”. But this year’s non Olympic story is far from silly.
Today Wyre Forest pupils received their GCSE marks, with many schools seeing some of their best pass-rates on record. They follow in the footsteps of friends and family receiving A-Level scores on Monday.
This month – August 2016 – is quite a special month for me. It marks the month that I have been a member of parliament longer than I spent as a candidate.
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that the total number of unemployed claimants in Wyre Forest, during July 2016, was 706.
It seems so recently that we were embarking on that fabulous summer four years ago – the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympics. It was an amazing year of success, unity and plain simple fun and for a spell we forgot about the problems facing us.
Over the last few years, I have put on a number of local Jobsfairs here in Wyre Forest. These aim to link those looking for work, with employers looking for workers. Twice a year, around 50 employers have offered around 500 jobs to local people and the attendance has been terrific. But as unemployment has come down in the district, there have been fewer and fewer people coming to the Jobsfairs, whilst employers are increasingly unable to fill vacancies. To me, this identified a subtler problem – that there could be a disconnect between schools and employers.
