Fay stays on as chair
MARGARET Fay, pictured, is to stay on to chair One NorthEast for an extra year to guide the regional development agency through the current economic downturn, it has been announced. Mrs Fay’s term was due to end in December 2009, but Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has asked that she and the other six UK RDA chairs, due to step down, have their appointments extended by up to one year. “There is a lot of hard work ahead,” she said, “and I will continue to do all I can to support our businesses through these challenging times.”
EU books are healthy
FIONA Hall, Liberal Democrat MEP for the North-east, has welcomed news that auditors have given EU books a clean bill of health. For the first time in 14 years, the European Court of Auditors was able to provide a “clean opinion” of the EU annual accounts for 2007 and praised the substantial improvements in European accounting.
NI breaks for workers
EMPLOYMENT experts on Teesside have given their backing to Conservative Party plans to offer companies a £2,500 National Insurance break for every new worker they take on who has been on the dole for more than three months. Tory leader David Cameron said the £2.5bn scheme would pay for itself by reducing the future cost of unemployment. Mark Harrison, Redcar centre manager of Pertemps People Development Group - which helps long term unemployed in to work - said: “This proposal from the Conservatives would provide a great financial incentive to employers and hopefully bring a boost to the local economy.”
