Prime Minister's Questions: Derbyshire Building Society branch closures
9th June 2010
During Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Pauline Latham calls on the Prime Minister to do all he can to help constituents who will lose their jobs as a result of the closure of the headquarters and branches of the Derbyshire building society.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con): Is the Prime Minister aware of the closure of 12 branches of the Derbyshire building society and its head office in the village of Duffield in my constituency? Can he assure me that he and his Government will do all they can to help those constituents who will lose their jobs-nearly 250 of them-in this small, rural area? Will he please assure us that the Government will do all they can to help these constituents who are being dealt this cruel blow at this difficult time?
The Prime Minister: I understand why my hon. Friend wants to raise this issue. What has happened to the Derbyshire building society is desperately sad, and obviously the Government will stand ready to do all we can to retrain people who have lost their jobs and to ensure that they get the very best opportunities, and also to ensure that we go on having a strong financial services sector. As the Derbyshire building society reminds us, this is not just about the City of London; it is about the fact that millions of people in our country work in financial services, providing a good service, and we need to help them.