CSR: Regional reaction
REGIONAL business organisations have given a mixed reaction to the CSR.
Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has called upon the Government to now put private sector growth at the heart of its policy making following today’s Comprehensive Spending Review.
Chief executive Gary Williamson, said: “The Government has made its decisions and the cuts will affect different businesses in different ways. The devil will be in the detail and over the next few weeks we will find out how these cuts will really impact Yorkshire”.
“The next step now must be for the Government to develop a clear and achievable strategy for growth, which has private sector success and job creation at its heart. We have heard some positive announcements today, such as the confirmation of Tax Increment Funding, which will benefit both Leeds and York, and a 50% increase in funding for apprenticeships, which is a good start. We have heard the rhetoric about the Government supporting a private sector – led recovery, now we would like to see those words put into action and for politicians, both locally and nationally, to work in partnership with business to grow our economy”.
Commenting on the £200m for manufacturing for renewable energy at port sites, Richard Kendall, policy executive at Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, said: “This funding is more than was announced by the previous Government and should, depending on the detail, be a real boost to our attempts to bring significant investment to the area.”
“The commitment to increase overall spending on infrastructure is a necessary one to support the recovery and will be welcomed by business.”
On carbon capture and storage, he said: “This is an emerging technology that the UK needs to be at the forefront of developing. The Chancellor’s funding commitment is very welcome. Given that a great deal of groundwork has already been done on this in Yorkshire and the Humber and our natural suitability for this, I hope the investment will come here and provide significant benefits for this area.”
West Yorkshire Metro chairman Cllr Chris Greaves said: “Although we have not had any specific news today on the planned Leeds NGT trolleybus scheme, given the Government’s stated aims of supporting public transport and sustainable low carbon transport initiatives, we should be able to expect the Secretary of State for Transport to make a positive announcement about the scheme next week.
“We have already reduced the scheme’s costs by 15% or £35m which is more than the Chancellor’s 10% reduction in capital spending on transport projects nation-wide.
Cllr Greaves also said that reductions in subsidies for bus and rail services could defeat the Government’s objectives of reducing congestion.
“I am surprised that having emphasised it supports public transport and green transport initiatives, the Government has today announced these measures.
“While I think that bus operators enjoying unrealistically high profit levels should absorb the cut in the Bus Service Operators Grant I fear it is unlikely, which means we are going to be faced with rising bus and train fares, and that in turn will mean more people abandoning public transport and going back to their cars.”
Referring to the 7.1% spending cut being imposed on local councils, Cllr Greaves said, “We rely upon funding from the five West Yorkshire for around half of our spending, which is why we have already started the planning process to identify in what ways we can absorb potential budget cuts.
“While, as we have already pointed out, we may have to look at how we support bus services and operate facilities such as bus stations, we will be unable to make any specific decisions until the West Yorkshire districts have had the chance to see how they are affected.”
Ed Cox, director of ippr north said: “The severity and speed of the cuts threatens the recovery in Northern England which was hardest hit by the recession and is still struggling to recover.
“Over the past decade, Northern cities have made great strides as a result of regeneration expenditure which has also levered in significant private investment. But today’s announcement shows a gulf in capital investment between North and South.
“While there is good news on the Manchester rail hub and M62 widening for example, these sums are dwarfed by the cost of the Crossrail project in London. Significant projects such as the A1 widening have also been overlooked.”
