MP James Wild: West Norfolk jobs resilient in face of Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine

MP James Wild's weekly column

The resilience of the jobs market has been a remarkable feature in the face of global challenges from the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Latest figures show that there are record numbers of people on payrolls across the country and unemployment is near record lows. In North West Norfolk, there were 1,445 people receiving unemployment related benefits, which was 2.7% of the population aged 16-64.

The equivalent UK claimant rate was 3.6%. That has fallen by 45 people overall in the last month and over the past year the number of claimants has fallen by 555.

However, there are also increasing numbers of people in economic activity nationally with the increase in the most recent period due to long-term sickness.

That’s why the government is focused on helping people improve their lives through work and to support the most vulnerable ensuring those looking for work and those already in work have the opportunities and skills they need to succeed.

And we need to drive down high inflation while protecting the most vulnerable.

Last week I was on BBC Radio Norfolk calling on the BBC to rethink its plans to reduce the amount of local programming.

I was grateful for the opportunity to talk about how much people value local radio and the important part it plays in our community.

Of course, we are fortunate to have Radio West Norfolk and KL1 and other commercial providers as well as the BBC’s service, and to have the Lynn News and other print media.

But the BBC has a privileged position with its £3.7 billion of guaranteed licence fee income.

Under their proposals there would only be local shows from 6am-2pm – after that content would be shared across multiple areas.

While local news bulletins and live sport would continue, plans to share shows across 18 local stations in the afternoon, 10 stations in the evenings and at weekends, and 39 stations after 10pm can hardly be called local.

While the licence fee was rightly frozen to help people with higher bills, these plans aren’t about saving money – instead resources are shifting to increase online content.

During the pandemic we became far more aware of the importance of everything local – in that context the BBC needs to think again and listen to its licence-fee payers to protect distinctive local content.

It was encouraging to see so many people gather in Tower Gardens, Hunstanton, Snettisham and across West Norfolk to mark Remembrance Sunday, including many cadets, guides, scouts, beavers, and brownies.

Newly released figures from the census last year, show that there are over 7,000 veterans living in West Norfolk – that represents 5.6 per cent of the population which is higher than the national average.

I was honoured to lay a wreath in Lynn to mark their service and the sacrifice of all those who have served, and the important role that their families play in supporting them. We shall remember them.