Capital’s in fast lane...
THE Government stands accused of leaving the North East economy in the slow lane after figures showed it was pumping four times more money into transport in London.
The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) highlighted figures released by the Treasury which showed that only £206 is spent per person on transport in the region compared with £783 in the capital.
Local businesses consistently place transport as the key issue in their ability to grow, but the message was not reaching Whitehall, NECC chief executive James Ramsbotham said.
“The amount of money spent on transport for our region is, quite frankly, shocking. We have witnessed decades of underfunding that has been a serious brake on an economy that has otherwise been performing outstandingly well until the global downturn.
“It is time for everyone, particularly the people who represent the North-east, to say that this simply is not good enough and that the imbalance must be redressed.”
He said the North-east had historically received the short straw when it came to funding allocations with figures demonstrating spending hovering around 70% of the UK average. That plummeted to just 62% this year.
By comparison, spending in London is 234% of the UK average.
Mr Ramsbotham added: “The Government has to recognise that allocating this region over a third less in funding than the national average is unacceptable and is letting down the people who live and work here. NECC will be taking this issue up both with MPs in the region and with the Treasury at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Overall public spending (including transport) in the North-east stands marginally above the UK average (106%) with a large proportion of funding focused on employment policies.
Mr Ramsbotham accused the Government of addressing the symptoms of stunted business growth, not the cause of the problem.
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