Region will pay "big price" for RDA demise - Digby Jones
Business bulldog Lord Digby Jones has warned that Yorkshire will "pay a big price" for the abolition of Yorkshire Forward.
The former director general of the CBI said: "I can’t for the life of me see why the government got rid of Yorkshire Forward. One or two (RDAs) were doing a bad job but you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
"This region will pay a big price for the abolition of Yorkshire Forward. Shame on this government for getting rid of them. Some unifying cohesion on a regional policy basis will be lacking."
Yorkshire Forward is scheduled to be wound down by April 2012.
Lord Jones was speaking at a business lunch organised by accountancy firm Armstrong Watson at the city's Met Hotel.
He told the audience of business advisers that Yorkshire’s universities and access to the transport networks will be its "saving graces".
On the plight of the UK economy, he added: "You can't say whether this economy is in or out of recession. Many exporters are having a good time. They are investing in their kit and their people."
On the flipside, he said the housebuilding and construction sectors, along with companies that supply the back office of public sector organisations, were still struggling.
Speaking to Insider after the event, he said that many small and medium companies "will never trust their bank again".
He explained: "If you are a hard-working SME and your banker turns off the credit, there is a bond of trust that has been broken. After that, they will only borrow what they absolutely need to, rather than borrow to expand."
