FREEZING temperatures and – some say – the worst winter in 30 years has meant a tricky start to the year for businesses across the UK.

A better economic climate has been a frustratingly long time in coming (and official statistics will still be eagerly awaited to confirm it to be the case) but NECC’s latest quarterly economic survey demonstrates that businesses are feeling considerably more positive than a year ago.

Virtually every indicator in NECC’s North East Business Barometer (NEBB) has returned to growth – a complete reversal on the same quarter in 2008.

However, there is a major caveat.

The fieldwork for this survey was virtually complete before Corus’s pre- Christmas bombshell that it planned to mothball its Teesside Cast Products operations in the Tees Valley.

We will have to wait for the remainder of the NEBB this year to understand how it will affect business performance and business confidence.

Last week, NECC made strong representation to the Government’s North-East Regional Committee in favour of continued steel production on Teesside. We will continue to lobby hard to persuade Corus to revise that decision, which has come as a devastating blow to the North-East economy.

Despite the positive tones of the latest NECC business barometer, firms will continue to need considerable support from the Government and other public bodies as this fragile recovery continues and it is for this reason that the centrepiece of NECC’s 2010 Manifesto is adopted wholeheartedly.

NECC called on policy makers to metaphorically sign up to an economic recovery test that should guide every decision this year.

Put simply, NECC’s Economic Recovery Test challenges civil servants and politicians to make sure that before any decisions are made affecting policy in the North-East, they must assess whether or not they will enhance infrastructure, improve business performance and/or remove barriers to business.

If the planned changes fail to address any of these areas they should be abandoned in case they take the fire from the resurgent economic picture.

The manifesto, called Delivering the Recovery, also sets out a number of key campaigning priorities for the year that will continue to lay the right foundation for growth.

The document is available at NECC’s website – necc.co.uk – and is vital reading for those that have influence over the way in which we shape the economic future of the UK.

■ Chris Beaumont is chairman of NECC Tees Valley.