Weston-super-Mare ranks third highest in country for personal insolvency

WESTON-super-Mare MP John Penrose has expressed his dismay as figures released today show that the seaside town ranked third in England for personal insolvency last year.

Data released today by R3, the trade body for Insolvency Professionals, shows that there were 424 new cases of personal insolvencies in Weston-super-Mare in 2009, the third highest in the country.

The worst constituencies in the country with higher levels than Weston were Torbay (470) and Mansfield in Derbyshire (442).

John said: “We all know how tough the last couple of years have been in Weston and the villages.

"Lots of local businesses were forced to close and unemployment almost doubled, but these figures show just how hard it’s been for Westonians.

“The good news is that our local economy is starting to pick up and unemployment is decreasing, so these figures should be a thing of the past.

“Of course we’re not out of the woods yet which is why I’m working hard with local businesses to see what we can do to boost our economy further.

"We’ve already cut corporation tax and I’m currently finishing a Tourism Strategy for the Prime Minister which should help boost our local economy even further.”