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This
week official figures have shown that the UK has started the
economic recovery – and last week, unemployment fell. I know things are still tough
for families across Redditch and everyone who loses their job needs
all the support they can get to find another job as quickly as
possible. That’s why
I’m pleased that there has been a lot of extra money provided to
the Job Centre to help people back into work. And from Monday every young person who
is unemployed for six months will be guaranteed the offer of a job,
training or work experience. Slamming the brakes onto public
spending and support like this would be wrong whilst the recovery
is so fragile. It’s
people’s jobs that are at stake here. I have never believed that
unemployment is ‘a price worth paying’ as Conservative Chancellor
Norman Lamont once infamously said!
In
the past, recessions have always led to an increase in crime –
particularly burglary and vehicle crime. So I was also pleased to see
that crime in the West Mercia area has continued to fall with
burglary coming down.
When I was Home Secretary, I started the programme to tackle
burglary and I’m pleased to see that we have bucked the crime trend
in this recession.
There’s nothing inevitable about crime rising when the economic
going gets tough!
Our family has had a new addition
in the last few months – a dog from the Dogs Trust Rescue Centre
near Evesham. He has
quickly become a much loved member of the family which is why I was
concerned to read the Dogs Trust report into puppy
farming. If you are
thinking of getting a dog, please look carefully before responding
to adverts in newspapers. They could be for puppies who
have been bred in horrible conditions. Even better, take in a dog that
has been abandoned by someone else. The Dogs Trust will be happy to
help.
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