THE chief secretary to the Treasury will tour Isle of Wight today, speaking to Island businesses.

Liz Truss hailed the halving of unemployment on the Isle of Wight today ahead of a visit to discuss the upcoming spending review with workers.

She will visit West Medina Mills, touring a centre for making wind turbines, before meeting workers at the MHI Vestas factory to discuss their priorities.

Later she will tour the innovative Tomato Stall farm, which produces dozens of varieties of tomatoes every year.

The Chief Secretary’s visit comes as statistics show unemployment on the Island has halved since 2010. The number of people out of work is down 3,000 since 2010 and has fallen 100 over the past year.

The number of people in work went up 300 in the past 12 months.

Liz Truss said: "I am in Isle of Wight today to see how businesses like MHI Vestas and the Tomato Stall have created such success here for the local economy.

"MHI Vestas already employs more than 300 people and last year announced plans for a recruitment drive to hire hundreds more. The Tomato Stall is a great example of a small business which has grown and innovated.

"I’m also speaking to workers about their priorities ahead of the spending review later this year, as we build a British economy fit for the future.”

Across the South East, goods exports last year were worth £47 billion in 2018, the highest of any UK region.

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