BURNLEY MP Kitty Ussher has welcomed news that the number of jobless in Burnley is on the way down.

She said the latest figures revealed a 16 per cent fall in the number of people on JobSeeker's Allowance in the town in the last 10 years.

In Burnley the number of people claiming JSA has fallen from 1,543 to 1,293.

Mrs Ussher said: "The figures are very encouraging they show there has been significant decrease in the number of people out of work and on Job Seekers Allowance in Burnley.

"With help of measures such as the New Deal, Tax Credits and the minimum wage people in Burnley are managing to lift themselves out of unemployment and benefit dependency and get back to work.

"It's amazing that some people are talking about scrapping such measures, especially the New Deal programme which has helped so many people across my constituency gain training, support, skills and employment.

"The figures illustrate tha investing in training and support is vital for increased prosperity, a stronger economy and more employment."