AS the North-East strives to rebalance an economy over-reliant on the public sector, it needs all the support it can get to create private sector jobs.

The fact that North-East businesses have been awarded £93m in the second round of the Government’s flagship job creation fund is to be welcomed – but it also needs to be kept in perspective.

The cash injection in the North- East, via the Regional Growth Fund, is estimated to be worth 8,500 direct jobs and a further 17,000 in the supply chain. That has to be celebrated and we congratulate the successful companies. But the big question, at a time when the region is losing 2,000 public sector jobs per month, is whether it will be enough.

While the North-East has been awarded £93m, the South-East has £113m to play with. When the populations of the two regions are taken into account, the grants equate to £35.76 per person in the North-East and £13.45 per person in the South-East.

It can, therefore, be argued that the North-East has fared relatively well.

But, as Michael Heseltine said at the launch of the RGF, it was set up “with the express purpose of stimulating growth in those regions that need it most”.

There are pockets of deprivation across the country but the North-East has the highest unemployment rate, and is suffering most from public sector cuts.

We do not seek special favours for the North-East – but the region needs to be given a fair chance if it is to cope with the massive impact of the Government’s austerity measures.

Yesterday’s announcement of £93m will certainly help significantly – but let us not get carried away with the idea that it will be enough to balance the scale of the losses.