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If public services really are empowered to deliver what their communities need, then we have the skills to secure investment and improvement that will protect the quality of life for our communities, says Mark Lloyd. In the depths of the recession – in early 2009 – one news report gave businesses in and around Cambridge some comfort. The Centre for Cities published research which placed Cambridge, together with Oxford, Edinburgh and, of course, London, as among the best-placed British cites to emerge quickly from the downturn. How so? Other than its universities, what is it that makes Cambridge so remarkable? There are the obvious stand-out elements – our knowledge-based economy, the biotech and hi-tech industries which are world leading, outstanding research and innovation. And it's a great place to live, work, invest and call home. I was at a conference held by the Greater Cambridge Partnership some weeks ago, where its chairman and local businessman, Nigel Brown, outlined the fact that Greater Cambridge could be one of the world's top 12 hi-tech clusters by 2021. He also outlined the major challenges which must be overcome to achieve this ‘tremendous opportunity', and I'm sure it is a mantra which will sound familiar. We need rapid improvements to local infrastructure, more investment in skills to bring those new technologies and industries into the mainstream, we need to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the high quality of life local residents enjoy. Fast-forward to 22 June, and the emergency Budget. Chancellor George Osborne's axe wielded heavily in the direction of public services, to no surprise. In Cambridgeshire, we had already seen much-needed projects such as the widening of the A14 corridor postponed. But I was struck by a headline in a national newspaper in the run-up to Mr Osborne's speech, which said: ‘Wielding the axe will not work without a radical effort to boost the private sector as well.' All well and good, in the context of cutting tax and regulation. But hold on a minute. There is also the Government's line about rebalancing the economy. In a regional context, that could mean difficult times ahead for Cambridgeshire and the east of England. Right now, beyond the powerhouses of London and the South East, Cambridgeshire is the only region which contributes to GDP. And yet, consistently under the last government, the region was dealt a poor hand by policies which – rightly or wrongly – prioritised the North and Midlands. Disinvesting still further in a county such as Cambridgeshire – so capable of delivering a genuine recovery – in favour of investment of ‘less winning' areas, could be a disaster for the county, its regional neighbours, and for the UK's economic future overall. What, then, is the solution? In the same way as the Government's political rhetoric points to getting the economy back into some semblance of balance and restoring equilibrium between public and private sectors, we too need a sense of balance. Cambridgeshire has an enviable strength in depth among the agencies which have delivered economic growth. Along with the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership, Cambridgeshire Horizons has been a superb catalyst for bringing in the housing growth the county needs, as well as a strong and convincing lobbying voice for Cambridge and Cambridgeshire on the need for improvements to the infrastructure. And, in the county's regional development agency – the East of England Development Agency – it has a body which has punched above its weight in terms of what it has delivered for bottom drawer funding. Where next for these agencies then, and how to respond to Cambridgeshire's economic requirements? The idea of stripping down and streamlining, but retaining their collective strength, is compelling. One body dealing with every aspect of the economic growth and infrastructure agenda – including the need to reduce carbon – at a strategic level may work, and be easier on the taxpayer's pocket. It could adapt quickly, responding to Cambridgeshire's needs, based on a strong track record of experience and understanding; backed up by knowledge of the business community which would be second to none, encouraging the growth the county desperately needs. If public services really are being empowered to deliver what their communities need, we have the plan. Mark Lloyd is chief executive of Cambridgeshire CC

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WHITEHALL

Building recovery on our collective strengths

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