Yorkshire and Humber calls on Government to back regional priorities

Yorkshire Forward and the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly have called on Government to ensure that policy decisions which are made centrally take account of the priorities which are outlined in regional strategy documents and signed off by Ministers, to ensure that regional efforts are not undermined.

Better alignment of all public sector funding to ensure that regional priorities are met and taxpayers money is used effectively formed the basis of Yorkshire Forward and the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly’s submission to Treasury.

The proposals which have been submitted to the Comprehensive Spending Review, have been developed in partnership with the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly and the Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber, with supporting evidence from Yorkshire Futures. They incorporate eight key issues which need support from Government, including a request for more decision-making powers to drive innovation, improve skills and develop the transport infrastructure.

The key issues are enterprise, innovation and science, inclusion and employment, skills, investment, housing, transport and quality of place.

On transport, Yorkshire and Humber has requested the Government to reduce regional disparities in transport investment per head, which would give the region the same levels of transport investment as the rest of the country and provide the means to deliver better rail connections between two of the North’s key cities, Leeds and Manchester.

The Government was also urged to support the region’s proposals to reduce congestion and improve rail capacity.

This includes greater flexibility within the Northern Rail Franchise and a call for Government to take a realistic look at the region’s rail requirements which under the present franchise agreement, assumes no increase in train seating capacity for nearly a decade, despite the rate of economic growth in the region, and rising passenger numbers. Addressing this issue has to be a priority.

The submission also asks Government to continue to simplify business support, and to align the funding available for workforce development through programmes like ‘Train to Gain’, which is currently managed by the Learning and Skills Council, to Business Link.

In addition to this, the partners have called on Government to review teaching methods to encourage the development of self-confidence, creativity and initiative to help the region to increase the number of business start-ups. Yorkshire Forward has invested a great deal of money and resource into business start up and support initiatives. For example, for every £1million spent on enterprise shows, more than 680 businesses have been created, but the submission highlights the need for enterprise to be embedded into the national curriculum.

Terry Hodgkinson, chair of Yorkshire Forward said:
"Thanks to the considerable efforts of many businesses and public agencies, Yorkshire and Humber's economy has grown faster than the European average for six consecutive years. The region is now the region of choice for many businesses, and is no longer considered to be one of Europe's poorest regions, going to Whitehall or Brussels with a 'begging bowl'.

"Our recent economic success brings with it problems, however, and congestion on Yorkshire's roads is increasing. We have worked hard with our political and business leaders to put together a compelling case for extra investment in our transport network to avoid our economy being held back. We believe that the people of Yorkshire and Humber deserve a better deal on transport."

Peter Box, Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly said:

"I'm confident the advice and evidence this region is putting forward to Government is both realistic and aspirational - realistic in terms of looking at how better use can be made of existing levels of public funding; and aspirational in terms of how we believe it can be used to help the region prosper in economic performance and tackling the challenges we face.
"Earlier this year, this region was rightly praised by Ministers for its partnership approach in giving other funding advice to Government. This approach has been reflected in this submission, which I believe will help provide a basis for addressing vital issues such as transport, housing and the success of our rural communities."

The Yorkshire and Humber submission aims to provide a coherent approach to regional development and is aligned with the priorities outlined by the Northern Way on behalf of the three northern Regional Development Agencies.