'Invest in transport' plea to Brown

From the archive, first published Wednesday 6th Dec 2006.

Gordon Brown must plough in millions to rescue the region's ailing transport network, according to a Bradford business chief.

Sandy Needham, chief executive of Bradford Chamber, said the Chancellor should earmark significant funding to free-up log-jammed roads, while easing overcrowding and improving punctuality on public transport.

Speaking before Mr Brown's pre-Budget statement today, Mrs Needham said she was hoping he would bring the north into line with the south of the country for transport spending.

She said: "Transport is a major area in need of significant spending. It is not a question of how much money is being spent but where it is spent. Around three times more is being spent in the south but the issues here are critical.

"The public infrastructure is not good enough for those wanting to get to work by train and bus. And the road network is more congested than ever. That is having an effect on businesses reliant on moving goods by road."

Mrs Needham said she was hoping for a change to corporation tax, which is at its highest-ever level.

"Similarly to previous years, we will be looking for a change in corporation tax and how we compare with the rest of Europe," she said. "Tax needs to be kept relatively small, because there are ridiculous levels for small business."

And there were hopes that Mr Brown would act to reduce a skills shortage which Mrs Needham said was affecting Bradford business.

"We still do not have enough young people ready for the world of work who have the minimum literacy and numeracy skills," she said.

"The academic and the vocational must be brought closer together in order to have people brought up to speed and ready to take jobs. I would call this a mixture of spending and of strategy."

Mrs Needham also called for excessive red tape and bureaucracy to be slashed.

Mr Brown's tenth pre-Budget report was expected to deliver an upbeat assessment of the economy and raise his growth forecast for the year.

He was expected to say gross domestic product will grow at 2.6 per cent this year. That is higher than the two per cent to 2.5 per cent he predicted in the March Budget and will give Mr Brown a lift in what is widely thought to be his last pre-Budget report as Chancellor.

e-mail: jonathan.walton@bradford.newsquest.co.uk