THE Government has been urged by the region’s largest business membership organisation to support measures that create jobs, encourage new investment and generate success to combat the impact of public spending cuts.

The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), which represents 4,000 businesses in the region, has published its 2011 manifesto – Driving Sustainable Growth – in which it details the priorities the coalition Goverment must implement to prevent the recovery from stalling.

The NECC has called for safeguarding assets that are critical to maintaining the recovery; reforming areas of policy to bolster competitiveness and, investing in priority areas to unlock growth.

The manifesto also calls for the Government to carefully manage changes to regional policy, such as the introduction of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and localism, to ensure that it does not hinder the development and growth of businesses.

Martyn Pellew, NECC president, said: “We are facing public spending cuts on an unprecedented scale and with it we are seeing radical changes to the way we run affairs at a regional and local level. Without a strong focus on the way these reforms will support businesses to grow the economy, we face a potential vacuum that will damage the UK economy for years. It is critical that policy leaders and decision makers recognise the need for the North-East’s private sector to grow.”

The manifesto calls for:

● A tax and regulatory system which supports air links between the North-East and key markets;
● A detailed timetable for inclusion of the North-East in a high speed rail network;
● Regional Growth Fund bids which unlock investment in low carbon industry;
● Support for employers taking on and retaining apprentices to de-risk this investment;
● Continuation of the Finance for Business North- East programme;
● Banking reform which does not undermine lending to businesses;
● No new use of local taxation powers or increase in local authority charges to business in the North-East this year.

Mr Pellew said: “There is no doubt that this will be another challenging year, but we absolutely believe that it is a year in which the focus should be on creating the right environment for sustainable growth rather than focusing on recovery. With change in the support infrastructure in the North-East, there is a genuine chance to create a lasting legacy that will benefit the region for years to come.”