LIB DEMS FIGHT WOKING ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The Economic Regeneration Task Group, a cross- party working group proposed by Woking Liberal Democrat councillors to fight the Woking economic downturn, has started work in earnest. The Task Group has found that that the economic crisis has clearly hit Woking . Council officers consulted WAVS, the CAB and employment recruitment agencies to assess the impact of the crisis.

Responding to the council research, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesman, Rosie Sharpley, said:

"It is sad to see how bad the economic situation really is. Applications for job vacancies have shot through the roof. Most agencies reported hundreds of jobseekers chasing very few vacancies. In some cases, there are 30 to 40 people chasing one job vacancy. One agency has around 200 people chasing just 3 job vacancies."

"I was shocked to read the report stating that the average unsecured debt of a Woking resident that the CAB is dealing with is £20 000. They are also dealing directly with £17.5 million of debt, which does not include the debt that residents are handling themselves."

Woking Liberal Democrats support the cross-party group initiated and chaired by Lib Dem Group Leader on the Council, Cllr Ian Johnson.

Cllr Ian Johnson said:

"We are determined to fight the economic downturn in Woking by implementing plans to do what we can to stimulate local business and helping our residents, where we can, through this economic crisis. I am very pleased that the Conservatives support our concerns and ideas. We are all in this together. Woking is a great place to live and to do business and we are keen to keep it that way."

ENDS