§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the factors causing the rate of unemployment in Bolton to change at a different rate from the rate for the country as a whole in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Department has made no such explicit assessment. However, I believe that the Department has created the right framework for employers to create jobs and reduce unemployment in Bolton, as in the rest of the United Kingdom. Indeed, I am pleased to see that over the past 12 months unemployment in my hon. Friend's constituency has been falling faster than the national average.