By Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield

On December 3 the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be presenting the Autumn Statement. This sets out the spending priorities for each Department of State.

However, it is also an occasion when the Chancellor can give a detailed update about the performance of the UK economy and about the general, global, economic trends.

The Prime Minister warned recently (after attending the summit of the G20 group of world economies) that “red lights are flashing on the dashboard of the global economy”.

Some critics at home took that as the opportunity to talk down the fact that the British economy has grown and that the economic indicators are good. For instance, the number of private sector businesses in the UK has now reached a new record, of 5.2 million. That is 760,000 more than in 2010.

Employment has risen steadily, while the number of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance has fallen.

We have to manage our economy carefully and responsibly, funding government spending so that we do not incur further massive borrowing and debt.

Of course we have to be alert to the fact that there are economic problems within the Eurozone and that some of the growing markets elsewhere, such as in China, have slowed down. These could affect our economy and we have to meet those challenges.

The glib answer would be to spend money the UK doesn’t have, tax and borrow more.

The economic data gathered independently by organisations like the Bank of England are reliable and they show that the UK economy is in recovery.

That recovery must be nurtured carefully to ensure that it continues on a sound footing.