Member Article

Brown sent North East agenda for change

The region’s leading employers’ organisation today laid down an agenda for change which it believes Gordon Brown must follow to improve jobs creation in the North East. In an open letter to the incoming Prime Minister, the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) sets out a number of key priorities for the region.

The NECC believes that Mr Brown’s policies should include: swift action to resolve the local government reform issue with one single, unitary authority for each of County Durham and Northumberland; scrapping the revisions to the Regional Spatial Strategy made by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; and supporting proposals in the recent Planning For A Sustainable Future White Paper.

NECC president Maggie Pavlou writes: “Put simply, we urge your new Cabinet to prioritise investment in the North East’s economic infrastructure and unshackle its dynamic private sector to deliver the jobs, wealth and prosperity that is increasingly the signature of this region.”

Mr Brown is urged to develop fiscal policies which recognise the needs of the region and make it easier for businesses to locate and grow. The letter also calls for improved transport infrastructure and a better foundation for education and skills to create a workforce “fully prepared to meet the challenges of the global economy”.

Miss Pavlou also wrote: “Although over the past decade the Prime Minister has represented a North East constituency, we have never believed our priorities for this region to have been merely of local concern. Now, with the Government under your leadership, we urge you therefore to take a fresh, objective look at some of the practical policy options which would enable the North East economy to play its full part in driving UK growth.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .