5 August 2011

Unemployment in Dundee rises in the past year, now above the Scottish average, says Kevin Keenan

Unemployment in Dundee has risen in the past year by almost 690 to over 5,500.

The rate of unemployment in the city is now 5.9 per cent compared with the Scottish average of 5.3 per cent, said local councillor Kevin Keenan.

Speaking on the upward trend in the city, the St. Mary's councillor who is also the Labour group leader on Dundee City Council, has called on Scottish Government Finance Secretary, John Swinney, to act on the increase in joblessness in Dundee.

Kevin Keenan said,

"Unemployment in Dundee, as recorded by those claiming Job Seekers Allowance, has risen by almost 690 in the past year.

"The numbers have risen from 4,858 in June 2010 to 5,547 in June of this year.

"Not only is unemployment in Dundee above the Scottish average ( 5.9 per cent to 5.3 per cent ), but also the majority of areas of Dundee - 17 out of 29 - have unemployment levels that are above the Scottish average as well.

"Having said that, we must never forget that each and every unemployed person in Dundee is 100 per cent unemployed.

“These figures show just how much unemployment is hurting Dundee more than Scotland overall.

“Economic activity in Scotland increased by a meagre 0.1 per cent increase in the first three months of this year, much less than the increase in the UK overall.

“That’s bad news for Scotland, but even worse news for Dundee.

“We need greater public investment in the city to create jobs , increase growth and sustain economic recovery.

“To take one example, we need to help our construction industry in the city , a sector where output has fallen in the same period.

"Dundee's SNP Council and the SNP Government signed an agreement that creating jobs was 'a priority', but have yet to deliver.

"They have let down everyone in the city.

" If they were confident that they could deliver, they would have invested in Education and not cut £4 million pounds from the city council budget.

“Finance Secretary John Swinney needs to state what action his Government will now take in light of these depressing Dundee unemployment figures.

“The SNP Government’s priority is working out the wording of a referendum on independence four to five years in the future.

“Dundee’s priority is jobs now."

Download the unemployment figures for Dundee (PDF)

Unemployment in areas of Dundee (as measured by those claiming Job Seekers Allowance)

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

Councillor Kevin Keenan, Labour group leader on Dundee City Council -

The SNP must reveal their spending cuts plan for Dundee immediately

When will the SNP Administration share their budget figures with the public, the workforce and the opposition Councillors in our City?

I note in the press that Angus Council is to be commended for its honesty as they have now advised their citizens that the cuts they have to impose will see 500 valued employees lose their jobs.

Whilst I often hear from Senior Officers of this Council that we must engage better with our Communities, there seems to be very little of this put into practice by the SNP Administration.

The kind of openness that we have seen from Angus Council has yet to be seen from Dundee City Council's SNP Administration as they have continued to hold secret meetings behind closed doors.

Even Freedom of Information Requests have not, as yet, been able to uncover their policies for Dundee's future that will see us through these difficult times.

Our SNP Administration, along with the Scottish Government, will not be able to hide cuts and job losses forever - people have the right to know.

If we just compare the amounts to be saved in Angus and in Dundee over the next four years, Dundee has almost twice the amount of cuts to make.

It is very regrettable that this Administration still look to keep things hidden from the very public they have been elected to represent.

It is equally regrettable that they continue to leave our valued workforce and their families with an enormous amount of uncertainty as to their futures.

Not just Angus, but other Councils up and down the country have laid down their intentions as to what their budget implications are to be, way in advance of any budget-setting date and I believe that this lack of information being provided in Dundee is a deliberate ploy of this SNP Administration not to allow the opposition Councillors the time to properly assess the impact on services and the needs of the people who require these very vital services.

We should also have time to consider the City's wider economy in anything brought before Council.

The Administration has set a date of 10 February 2011 when they intend to announce their budget.

They should share their intentions with the public way before this date to allow public scrutiny and not just rail-road their budget through as they have done previously.

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Marlyn Glen MSP has received information from the Scottish Government showing that there have been a total of over 120 emergency admissions from falls amongst elderly people in the Ardler, Kirkton, Downfield and St. Mary’s areas over the past three years.

Ms. Glen said,

"NHS Tayside’s Falls Prevention and Bone Strategy helps to reintegrate back into the community those elderly people who have fallen and to minimise the occurence of further falls through exercise and improvements in bone health.

"Falls at home, resulting from conditions such as poorer vision, lesser mobility as well as osteoporosis, can contribute to injuries that might have been prevented.

"Elderly people can suffer consequences that are both physical such as fractures and hypothermia, and psychological , such as loss of dignity and independence."

Ms. Glen added that the British Geriatric Society had indicated that falls affect almost one in three of those aged over 65 and half of those aged over 80, and that they are a major reason for hospital attendance and admission amongst the elderly.

Falls and fragility fractures are both linked with illness and mortality, she said, and the estimated cost of the care of fragility care to health and social services is over £2billion in the UK.

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