Clause 72 — The bank levy

Part of Planning (Green Belt Protection) – in the House of Commons at 8:30 pm on 3 May 2011.

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Photo of Ian Mearns Ian Mearns Labour, Gateshead 8:30, 3 May 2011

The point that my hon. Friend is making about the north-east economy is appropriate. Clearly the job cuts in the public sector have not yet hit the employment market, yet the statistics for last month showed that although there had been a national decrease in unemployment of 17,000, it had increased by 11,000 in the north-east, which has a population of only 2.5 million. That is happening even before the job cuts hit the market, so the situation up there is very serious indeed.