A major new report assessing the state of the South West ahead of the October Emergency Budget, concludes that the region is in danger of being marginalised and becoming “the forgotten part of England”.
The South West was the region that gave a higher proportion of its vote to the parties forming the coalition; all but four of the region’s MPs are either Conservative or Liberal-Democrat.
But in the rush to dismantle the regional public sector, the South West risks being marginalised and taken for granted if it does not act now to make its voice heard, says the report Let’s Hear It For The South West.
The report by South West Stakeholders, an alliance of social and economic organisations in the region from the Confederation of British Industry to Citizens Advice, points out that the South West already receives 9% less government spending than the UK average.
With the most stringent cuts for decades expected in the October Emergency Budget, the fear is that the region will lose out even further unless urgent action is needed to protect the region’s economy and safeguard the vulnerable.
“The Government’s commitment to reversing decades of centralisation creates new challenges for the South West,” says South West Stakeholders chair Nigel Costley, who is also South West TUC regional secretary.
“Other parts of Britain – not just the devolved administrations but the North West and the West Midlands in particular – have shown already the effectiveness of collective lobbying in making their cases to ministers.
“Local authorities, communities and people throughout the South West must find ways of expressing their collective voice to ensure they receive a fair share of limited resources and help put substance to the idea of a ‘Big Society’. We must make our needs known and our voice heard.”
The report says some parts of the South West are more vulnerable to the reductions in public spending because they rely more on public services or are heavily dependent upon defence.
It says: “Just a 6.5% cut in defence spending could mean 4,000 jobs will be lost in the region but this figure could be a lot higher. For every public sector job lost there will be another one gone from the private sector, especially in sectors such as construction, health and social care; 38% of small firms rely on public contracts.
“The Government believes that the private sector will recover enough to grow employment and take up the jobs lost from public services.
“This is a big risk and to get anywhere near the numbers required we must seize every opportunity to promote the region abroad and boost local employment in the big civil engineering projects due to come to the South West.”
The report expresses concern at the speed with which regional bodies are being abolished, pointing out that spatial planning and economic development for a sustainable future are complex matters, requiring long-term thinking and co-ordination of action over a wide area.
It says: “The new Government is clearly unconvinced about the value of regional structures and bodies, but in its drive for reform, it appears to have lost sight of the fact that within such structures and bodies are many skilled and highly committed people who have been doing some great work.”
The report says action is needed to ensure that the skills, expertise and good practice from organisations such as the Regional Development Agency (RDA), Government Office for the South West, Strategic Health Authority and other bodies are not lost in transition.
