Insurance group has 800 job vacancies that cannot be filled

The Saga Group purchased One Priory Square in Hastings town centre in 2010 and said it would become the town’s biggest employer.

But four years later the jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of suitable candidates in the area, according to a prominent business leader.

Hastings has one of the highest proportions of out-of-work benefits claims and lowest wages in the South East.

Lord Brett McLean, vice chairman of East Sussex Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), made the claims during a speech at a financial seminar hosted by Bibby Financial Services at The Amex stadium.

Speaking about the FSB’s work to improve skills Lord McLean said: “We engage with local authorities to introduce employability initiatives into the national curriculum to get the next generation of employees up and ready for work.

“What is astonishing is that there are 800 positions at Saga in Hastings that are unfilled because of the skills gap.”

Lord McLean also criticised Brighton and Hove’s “unacceptable and ridiculous” parking charges.

He said: “Brighton is well known for its draconian, extremely high parking charges. Why in areas of deprivation and high unemployment such as Queens Park is this acceptable?”

David Postings, chief executive of Bibby, which has an office in Hastings but operates across the south coast, addressed an audience of business leaders from Barclays, Cardens, EMC, Mayo Wynne Baxter and Mazars.

In an assessment of the post-recession economy he said: “We’re not convinced about the quality of jobs being created. Taxes are inevitably going to rise which will damage consumers’ confidence, and businesses are cautious about investment.

“Our view is this area is stronger than the UK as a whole and Brighton and Sussex has more high growth businesses.”

Financial journalist Anthony Hilton said: “Economics is one of the few professions where most of the people are wrong most of the time. It’s like in medicine when the cure for everything was blood-letting.”

He described the current climate as “the agony and the ecstasy”, with inflation, jobs and economic growth on one side, but falling incomes, poor productivity and personal debt on the other.

While businesses “muddle through” there is a risk politicians will “screw it up”.

The uncertainty of an EU referendum would be “hugely damaging” and put a freeze on investment, he said.

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