Lib Dem treatment of Hull firms less than Ideal

Hull North MP Diana Johnson today called for more support from Hull City Council for longstanding Hull companies Ideal Boilers and Ideal Standard.

Based in Hull North's National Avenue, Ideal Boilers and Ideal Standard have been major Hull employers since the 1930s. They are also among the country's leading firms in their fields of expertise, and were longstanding contractors to Hull City Council.

However, it has emerged that within the past two years Ideal Boilers were removed from Hull City Council's preferred supplier list for central heating renewals under the Decent Homes programme. Instead this work on Hull's 28,000 council homes was given to a rival company based in Warwick.

Recent bids by Ideal Boilers to be reinstated as a supplier to Hull City Council have been rejected. In November, Ideal Boilers announced 30 job losses, following on from 73 that were cut earlier. Their remaining employees have been on short time working.

Meanwhile, Hull's renowned bathroom company Ideal Standard has been forced to share its role as a supplier to Hull City Council with a Stoke company.

Diana recently wrote to the Lib Dem Leader of Hull City Council demanding that more be done to support these key Hull employers as they face the challenges of the global economic downturn.

Diana Johnson MP said: "There must be many people in Warwick grateful to Hull City Council for exporting valuable work from Hull to them.

"However, in these tough times for the global economy workers in Hull expect their local authority, like others around the country, to be doing everything possible to bat for local private sector jobs.

"I have written asking Hull City Council to look again at their decision to export work away from Ideal Boilers, especially when this great Hull company has been going through such a tough time.

"I know that Ideal can make Hull City Council a highly competitive offer, so it must be in the interests of Hull's local economy for the Council to do its bit to promote skilled local jobs."