Brunt of recession is behind us now, says Mandelson (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Brunt of recession is behind us now, says Mandelson

9:38pm Friday 17th July 2009

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The brunt of the recession is over but the situation is still serious, said Business Secretary Lord Mandelson today.

He was speaking during a flying visit to Saltaire to open a new base for the Advanced Digital Institute, which helps hi-tech firms.

He said: “I believe we’ve seen the end of the worst of the recession but we still have a serious situation.

“The Government is doing all it can to blunt the impact of the recession and speed up the recovery.

“The important thing is economic growth. If we can get that going we’ll be over the recession more quickly and be able to maintain investment in public services.”

But Lord Mandelson warned that recovering the banking crisis, which had brought about the part nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, would mean tighter pubic spending.

He said developing the Aire Valley as a hi-tech hub would help drive a 21st century industrial revolution.

He said: “The sort of initiative we are seeing here is so exciting.

“ADI is a powerful investment in Britain’s future, fostering innovation at a time when it’s tempting to cut back on research and development spend, turning innovative ideas into the leading commercial solutions of tomorrow, helping businesses thrive in Airedale and beyond and boosting the UK’s competitiveness as a knowledge economy.”

Linda Pollard, deputy chairman of Yorkshire Forward, which helped fund ADI, said the decision to market the Aire Valley as the region’s creative corridor had been a masterstroke. She said: “The work being done by the Airedale Partnership isn’t all about hi-tech digital technologies. It’s about infrastructure, lifestyle, connecting communities to education and work and social and economic opportunities.”

ADI is a not-for-profit research and development institute which will identify and develop technology-based opportunities.

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