New NECC head goes on the attack

Jun 10 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

THE new president of the region's biggest business organisation yesterday launched an attack on the public sector, accusing it of being a case of "the tail wagging the dog".

Martin Pellew, development director of PD Ports, was sworn in as successor to Richard Bottomley at the North East Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in Durham.

And he wasted no time in setting out his stall for his new term as he demanded the public sector be more responsive to the 50,000 private enterprises in the North East which pay a total of £1.35bn in corporation taxes.

Mr Pellew won respect at regional and national level for masterminding the effort to get planning permission for a new £300m deep-sea container terminal at Teesport.

He plans to build on that success by lobbying for essential improvements to the North East’s transport and communications infrastructure. He said: “We, the business community, have a very strong leadership role to play and those employed in the public sector should be very conscious and recognise that it is businesses that create the wealth to help them facilitate and enable businesses to work.” He expressed concerns about the size of the public sector in the North East, which accounts for 32% of employment in the region, compared with a national average of 19.7%.

“I sometimes feel the public sector is the tail wagging the dog and it should not be allowed to continue. We have every right to be very demanding of the public sector.”

Mr Bottomley stepped down yesterday after 18 months as president, during which time he undertook a range of engagements including meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown to press for measures required to boost the North East economy in the face of the recession.

The event also featured the launch of NECC’s report on innovation by North East firms and a new campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of membership of the organisation.