New economic strategy cannot mask failure to tackle London unemployment

12.00.00am GMT Thu 20th Jan 2005

Commenting on the launch of the London Development Strategy which was launched by the London Development Agency (LDA) and Ken Livingstone earlier today, Liberal Democrat London Assembly member and Chair of the London Assembly Economic, Development and Planning Committee, Dee Doocey, said:-

"It is welcome that the Mayor and the London Development Agency have revised their Economic Development Strategy. However, the first Strategy failed to deliver on some of the key targets and this has left London with the legacy of the highest unemployment rate in the UK.

"The Strategy must concentrate on skills and training to get people back into work. This hasn't been a strong area for the LDA to date. Today, the Mayor suggested that he wants to get skilled workers to come to the capital, yet part of the solution must be to get Londoners trained and skilled to meet the employment needs of business.

"So far, the LDA has made little impact on addressing unemployment in the last 4 years. If the LDA and the Mayor are to start demonstrating they are effective in improving things for London and Londoners, they must put forward concrete and achievable solutions to the economic problems that blight the capital. Without these, this document could end up being yet another worthy contribution to the debate, while achieving little on the ground."