Jonathan Djanogly, the Member of Parliament for the Huntingdon Constituency, is calling on the Chancellor to use this week's Budget to address the serious skills shortage that has been highlighted by a survey he has just completed of local business opinion.
The survey was sent out to over 2000 local businesses and is designed to give the local MP a clear view of the hopes and fears of the local business community.
Commenting on the responses he received, Mr Djanogly said:
"I am keen to find ways to give those I represent a chance to advise me of their views. This allows me to better represent them both locally and at Westminster. Some of the results from my pre-budget survey, were in line with what I had expected. I was, however, alarmed that so many local businesses are clearly having problems finding new staff who possess the training and qualifications they require. That 66% found this is a problem is an issue to take very seriously, especially as 74% consider that the problem is getting worse and not better. After nine years in government, Labour have clearly failed to tackle this problem.
I have written to the Chancellor today calling on him to address the issue on Wednesday when he delivers his Budget. We will see what, if anything, he does".
A14
The survey also asked for views on how important local business sees the proposed new A14 road to their business. The figures show that by 2 to 1 local business believe that the road is important to them. Overall 38% see it as Very Important, 27% see it as Quite Important, with only 28% considering it Not to be Important."