The latest figures on unemployment published last week showed further significant progress for our area. In the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency unemployment has fallen by one third since May 2010. There are now more than 800 people fewer out of work and claiming the job seekers allowance in our area than there were a year ago. That's equivalent to one and a half times the number of people who work at Dungeness B power station. These are new jobs created and filled in the last twelve months. The benefit of this fall in unemployment has been seen right across the district, with significant reductions in Folkestone in particular, where the rate had been higher than elsewhere. The overall unemployment rate for our area, now 3.4%, is well below the national average. Folkestone and Hythe is not just benefiting though as part of a general improvement in the national economy. We have seen the biggest fall in unemployment in Kent in the last year. This is primarily thanks to the hard work of local people and businesses, but has no doubt been helped by the growing popularity of the high speed rail link to London, targeted support for business growth through the Expansion East Kent regional growth fund and extra investment in the apprenticeship programmes. More than three times as many young people are now starting an apprenticeship compared to four years ago.
One local business that continues to go from strength to strength is the Port Lympne reserve run by the Aspinall Foundation. Last Friday I was delighted to join the estate's Managing Director Bob O'Connor and the hospitality manager Sam Lloyd, for the opening of the Port Lympne Mansion boutique hotel. Port Lympne is one of the finest houses on the South Kent coast, and was commissioned just over one hundred years ago by the MP of the time, Sir Philip Sassoon. It was built by the architect Sir Herbert Baker, famous for his great public buildings in South Africa and India, and was finished after the First World War by Philip Tilden, now better know for his work at Chartwell, Winston Churchill's estate in Kent. Port Lympne was built as a place of relaxation and entertainment, and between the wars hosted some of the leading lights of the day, including Churchill, Lawrence of Arabia and Charlie Chaplin. In 1920 and 1921, Port Lympne also hosted a series of international peace conferences led by the Prime Minister David Lloyd George. It's great that once again guests will be able to come and stay at Port Lympne, to enjoy the house and its grounds. Accommodation has also been a very successful addition to the Port Lympne reserve over the last few years, with the development of Livingstone lodge and Elephant lodge, which provide luxurious safari style 'glamping'. These new facilities have also created new jobs and brought in extra revenue to support the important animal conservation work carried out by the Aspinall Foundation.