A BLUEPRINT for the economy
of the north-east has been published with the aim of generating
tens of thousands of jobs.
It follows six months of
fact-finding, led by the former Labour cabinet minister Lord
Adonis. The Archbishop of Canterbury was on the group overseeing
the review when he was Bishop of Durham. He stepped down and was
replaced by the businessman Jonathan Ruffer, the owner of the
investment company that donated £15 million to save the Zurburán
paintings at Auckland Castle. The strategy seeks to create 60,000
private-sector jobs, and to double the number of apprentices.
It was commissioned by the North East Local Enterprise
Partnership, set up almost two years ago to encourage economic
regeneration in the area.