Last week Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, came to Hartlepool to see what is being done about tackling unemployment in the town.

Unemployment is devastating. Being in a job is not only positive in terms of providing you with an income, but all the evidence suggests that it improves other chances in life such as increased health, and a better sense of well being. The notion of getting up and doing a decent day’s work is something which has social benefits as well as making financial sense. Unemployment can never be seen as a price worth paying, or something that can be useful in pursuing economic goals such as reducing the level of inflation. Unemployment blights families and can really undermine whole communities.

Hartlepool has unfortunately down the decades suffered from more than its fair share of unemployment. In the 1980s, the scale of job losses and the decimation of traditional industries meant that, at one point, male unemployment was running at 25 per cent in the town. It has taken years to try to turn around the social and economic consequences of this devastating time, and even now the town remains vulnerable to an economic downturn. It will arguably take decades to recover from the industrial and economic shocks of the 1980s.

In the most severe economic recession that the world has seen since the Second World War it is sadly the case that Britain, as a trading nation, and Hartlepool- which remains a strong trading town, could not be immune from these big global forces. On a positive note, it is useful to realise that, in the last recession in the 1990s, the number of people in the town unemployed was significantly higher than today. In 1992, the number of people unemployed was about 6,500; now, it is just below 4,000. This seems to indicate that the interventions from the Government – together with more flexibility from business – are helping to reduce the jobless figure.

However, this is not the time for complacency. The unemployment figures we see today are still far too high, and I feel it is the role of anybody in authority to work together to try to address this problem.

The Government has responded, particularly with regards to unemployment for younger people, with investment such as the Future Jobs Fund. Hartlepool was successful in receiving this money, and thanks to partnership and determination to do something to help the town, the Council, voluntary groups and others are pulling their weight to help reduce unemployment.

Hartlepool’s Future Job Fund, after only a couple of months, is the best performing project in the North East and one of the best in the country. There are approximately 400 people in the North East who have accessed the Future Jobs Fund, and over half of these – 218 – are in Hartlepool. The scheme is on track to achieve its objectives of creating 720 jobs.
Of great significance in this is Manor Residents Association. Angie Wilcox, the Manager, is someone who won’t take no for an answer. She called me one Friday to demand that I attended a meeting at Manor Residents so some of the problems about Future Jobs Fund could be aired and sorted out. Last week she told Yvette Cooper the story of how Manor Residents started out by knocking on people’s doors in Owton Manor asking them what colour those doors should be. Now, the Association is a major part of the Manor and employ people in youth matters, child care, and garden and allotment maintenance amongst others. It is a really positive story, and impressed the Secretary of State so much she texted me after the meeting to say she told half the Cabinet about Angie and Manor Residents!

I want to continue to work hard to ensure that other people in Hartlepool have the chance of work. Initiatives like the Future Jobs Fund shows that this vital investment is necessary and is working. Unemployment is never a price worth paying, and I will not rest until we can ensure that the jobless total comes down.