Employment levels have never been higher in our country’s history, with more people in work than ever before. In my Bolton West & Atherton constituency alone, which covers about 96,000 people and stretches from Smithills in the north to Atherton in the south and from Blackrod in the west to Ladybridge in the east, unemployment rates are very low and below average for the North West. Here, just 1,277 people – about 2.7% of the population – were claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance or Universal Credit last month. This is a fall of around 37% since 2010.
Despite these figures, there is always more that we can do as we work towards achieving full employment. Jobcentres are still vital services and we should be doing everything we can to support people back into work – particularly those who are harder to reach and finding it more difficult to get a job. Jobcentre staff are specially trained in helping these people find work and supporting them through the process. I know that many people rely on Atherton Jobcentre for just this reason.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ proposal to shut down Atherton Jobcentre is bad news for the town. I am wary of any move to take resources away from Atherton and move them centrally –whether it’s to Leigh, Wigan or the centre of Manchester – and this is no different. Why should local people have to travel to use services that have always been available here?
It doesn’t make sense to me, which is why I’ve written to the Minister of State for Employment, Damian Hinds MP, and asked that he look again at these proposals. Making jobseekers, especially those who for whatever reason are finding it more difficult to get back into work, have to travel out of town to get support will be detrimental to actually getting them back into work – the whole point of Jobcentres in the first place. I hope that the Department for Work and Pensions sees sense on this.
In recent weeks, I have noticed a spike in complaints I receive from local people about antisocial behaviour and crime on the streets of Atherton.
I raised this with Greater Manchester Police and I have been told that four more people have now been arrested and charged with a variety of offences including criminal damage and public disorder. I am hopeful that these charges will have a big impact on reducing crime in the area.
Despite these arrests, local people still need to continue reporting any crimes that they witness. Time and time again I hear complaints about people causing damage to cars and other acts of crimes and yet once they are reported to the police, some people will not provide witness statements.
This makes it incredibly difficult to charge someone with a crime – and it’s very frustrating for the police. The police need evidence to substantiate any claims, and without statements it makes it much more difficult to charge someone and, hopefully, get them off the streets.
Please do continue to let me know if you are a victim or witness any crime – it helps me understand how big the problem is – but please also follow through with your report and make sure you give the police a statement.
If you do this then we can make Atherton a safer place to live and work.
And finally, I would like to pay tribute to Sir Gerald Kauffman, the veteran Labour Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton and Father of the House of Commons, who sadly died over the weekend. Sir Gerald was the longest serving MPs in the House of Commons and I know that he will be deeply missed by his constituents, colleagues, friends and family.