Look at north-east England

England’s north-east is an area of 9,000 square kilometres, containing 2.6 million people, five universities, 18 further education colleges, two major ports, two international airports, the major cities and towns of Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Sunderland, and 76,700 business sites. The population is ageing, and has a relatively low proportion of people from minority ethnic groups. Economic growth exceeds the national average and is outperforming European averages, although it continues to be the poorest of all of the English regions. Gross value added (GVA) per head is more than £15,177 (79% of the UK average, making it the lowest-performing English region, and ahead of only Wales and Scotland). Nevertheless it is improving faster than many other regions.

The proportion of new business survivals is higher than for many years, although still only 58% of the national average. Since 2000, unemployment has fallen every year in a workforce of 1,030,000, and now stands at around 6%. The rate of employment (over 72%) is lower than the national average, but above the European average. The region has the highest proportion of workless households in the UK, and a smaller proportion of highly qualified people than nationally; but there are also fewer skills shortages. The proportion of the working-age population qualified to Level 2 or higher is 47%. Life expectancy is lower than the national average, reflecting higher levels of illness and smoking.

In science and technology, the area offers a variety of trade and investment opportunities, with major investment also going into health sciences, new and renewable energy and process industries. Only London has a higher rate of technology start-ups, and research and development expenditure is rising each year, with the latest spending level reaching £281 million. Science Parks such as Knowledge Campus and Netpark are supporting this high-tech industry growth, as is major investment into the region’s key sector strengths of health sciences, new and renewable energy, and process industries.Creative industries like content-based businesses, including computer games and video production, are now growing faster in the north-east than anywhere else in England, with more than 2,800 creative businesses employing 26,000 people.

Although the dominant sectors of the north-east economy are manufacturing (19% of GVA compared to 14% for the UK as a whole), business services and the public sector, other major sectors include property, retail, construction, hotels and catering, production, and agriculture. The region is a net exporter with a positive balance of payments. Overseas companies have invested over £539 million in capital expenditure.Regional employers are the most optimistic in the UK, with 53% of companies planning to expand staff numbers, compared to 33% in London. The region is now recognised by Europe as a leading UK region, putting science and technology at the heart of its economic strategy.

Significant business sectors in the region include agriculture, production, construction, motor trades, wholesale, retail, hotels and catering, transport, property and business services, public administration and other services. Significant employers include Nissan, The Sage Group, Arriva, Barratt Developments, Nike, Bellway, Huntsman International, Reg Vardy, Greggs, Komatsu, AEI Cables, Thyssenkrupp Tallent, Hashimoto and (for the moment at least) Northern Rock. Significant overseas investors include Rohm & Haas (UK) Ltd (USA), Laporte Industries (Germany), Valeo (France), Seadrill (Norway), SeaDragon (Canada), GE Money (USA), Aker Kvaener Engineering Services (Norway), Cummins Engines (USA), NSK Steering Systems Europe Ltd (Japan) and Terra Nitrogen (USA).

There is a constant demand for construction trades such as carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, plumbers, electricians, and painter/decorators. LGV drivers and mechanics are also needed, while the telecommunications, IT and computing industries are the subject of new initiatives to reinvigorate them. Other sectors looking to fill vacancies include administration, hospitality (although low paid and often seasonal), nursing, factory production (generally not pursued by Service leavers except for big companies) and accounting. There is also work in light engineering, fabricating/metalworking, training and call centres.

House prices are substantially lower than the national average, although the gap has narrowed recently; while people travel less each year than the national average and have shorter journey-to-work times. Crime levels are similar to the national average, but fear of crime is slightly lower. A smaller proportion of waste is recycled in the north-east than nationally. Although the region still contains more areas of deprivation than anywhere else in the UK, every year more than 500,000 people visit north-east England, generating £1 billion for the regional economy, and supporting 10% of the region’s jobs.

The region enjoys striking contrasts between the cosmopolitan life of its cities and large towns, its peaceful attractive countryside, breathtaking mountain and moorland scenery, and its beautiful unspoilt coastline. A 122-kilometre stretch of the North Sea coast has been officially recognised as a HeritageCoast. Part of this is also an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The region also contains large water reserves and renewable power sources.