SOUTH EAST WARNING ON MPS' SELECT COMMITTEE CONCLUSIONS

THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE NORTH WON'T BE IMPROVED BY ROBBING THE SOUTH OF INVESTMENT. This is the warning from the South East England Regional Assembly, in response to today's ODPM Select Committee Report on Regional Disparities.

Reacting to the Select Committee's call for Government to channel investment in infrastructure and R&D according to regional rather than national priorities, Paul Bevan, Chief Executive of the South East England Regional Assembly said: "The reality is that the South East is the locomotive that drives the UK economy and you don't speed up the train by slowing down the engine."

He added: "The distribution of public spending is already biased heavily towards the needier regions of the country - the funding per capita for public services and economic development are far higher in the north than in the south. Ministers should be very wary indeed of pushing that imbalance still further. Without urgent, significant investment in transport, skills, and affordable housing, the South East's economy is in real jeopardy. If they can't recruit the staff they need or move their goods efficiently, the international companies generating wealth for the UK will desert this region for mainland Europe, not for the North of England."

Disparities within regions
Mr Bevan continued: "The focus on the gaps in performance between regions overlooks the fact that disparities within regions are just as serious. London and the South East have areas of deprivation as bad as anywhere in the North. Our efforts, endorsed by Ministers, to foster economic growth within the Thames Gateway, East Kent and the deprived south coast conurbations will be enormously hampered unless the Government provides the necessary backing for improvements in infrastructure and services."

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007