Region must drive recovery

IN an age when the constraints on public spending have never beentighter, it is crucial that every penny is targeted wisely for maximum effect. Today's call by Centre for Cities for the Government to focus the majority of its regional spending on areas where private sector growth is thriving is, therefore, understandable.

With public sector jobs being squeezed, it is private firms who will be expected to create a new generation of jobs. And in burgeoning cities such as Leeds, which for too long have been hampered by under-investment in major infrastructure, business leaders want a political commitment from Ministers to support their future growth.

However, it is important that recovery strategies focus on the whole of Yorkshire – and not just individual towns and cities – as the country braces itself for the potentially devastating impact of the

Government's spending review next month.

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With billions of pounds certain to be slashed from the budget, the expectation is that hundreds of thousands of public sector employees will be left out of work, outstripping the modest fall in unemployment

that has just been recorded in Yorkshire.

Nowhere will the effect of this be felt more keenly than in the North.

Places such as Barnsley and Doncaster are notoriously reliant on public sector employment, and do not have a thriving private sector economy to assist their prospects.

Neglected by the Thatcher and Major governments, it is vital that such areas receive the necessary support from a new Conservative-led administration to prevent any further decline.

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A policy of solely targeting growth areas for financial support will inevitably widen the North-South divide, and create further divisions between neighbouring cities such as Leeds and Hull.

It is striking that the Centre for Cities report also praises the Government's plans for Local Enterprise Partnerships, which are expected to be given much of the control over how regional funding is allocated.

Their report, perhaps unwittingly, emphasises the need for a single partnership to replace Yorkshire Forward – and prevent the region being held back by isolated decision-making that puts the need of individual cities before the region's long-term economic prospects.