THANKS largely to a strong economy, since becoming the Minister of State for Employment in July last year East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds has presided over strong and rising employment figures.

The percentage of working age people now in jobs is the highest it has been since records began in 1971, and the double-digit unemployment rates of the 1980s seem a distant memory. But challenges remain.

Mr Hinds spoke to Lorna Wallis.

For full story, see this week’s Bordon Herald.