Mayor: Budget will help get 60,000 people into work

10-YEAR PLAN TO SUPPORT 100,000 NEW JOBS IN EAST MIDS

- By NIGEL SLATER

THE East Midlands mayor says the freezing of tax thresholds and allowing benefits for more children will help, not hinder her mission to get 60,000 people into work.

Claire Ward made a special visit to Derby College on Tuesday to officially launch her 10-year “Get East Midlands Working” plan.

The project’s main tasks include creating and supporting 100,000 new jobs and bringing 60,000 people back into the workplace.

Its launch in Derby was heralded as a “significant milestone” to get “real people” across the East Midlands into work who struggle for several reasons to find jobs.

Over the next decade, the plan for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire aims to:

■Raise the regional employment rate to 80 per cent by 2035, meaning about 60,000 more people in work