Houghton and Sunderland South MP, Bridget Phillipson, met with staff at Shoo Fly Publishing, an app designing and development company based at Rainton Bridge. Shoo Fly has worked with Collins Books, Bloomsbury and The Customs House to create innovative mobile apps.

A recent report by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research shows that the digital economy includes over 270,000 companies nationally, over 537 of these are in Sunderland employing an estimated 12,000 people.

Commenting after the visit, Bridget Phillipson MP said:

“The work Shoo Fly and other digital and tech companies do in Sunderland innovating and driving our digital economy forward is a great success story for the North East.

“Digital skills are vital if we are going to grow our economy out of stagnation. The North East continues to play a vital role as the engine room for our economy with high tech skills and services.”