Claire Perry opens the "Wiltshire Open for Business" event

Unusually, on Tuesday 10 May I was able to get down to Devizes during a parliamentary work day for a Wessex Chamber of Commerce breakfast, to open the "Wiltshire Open for Business" event at the Corn Exchange and to celebrate the new Hayden's venture in Devizes. It is always so useful to hear firsthand about local business conditions and things appear to be reasonably healthy with many firms reporting increased order books and staff numbers. Indeed unemployment in the Devizes Constituency has fallen 22 per cent in the last year and we now rank 623rd out of 650 constituencies with our unemployment rate. However, the high cost of fuel continues to be a drag on business growth both locally and nationally, which I raised with the Chancellor later on Tuesday during Treasury questions.

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