A WEST Yorkshire politician has accused the region’s economy experts of focussing too closely on Leeds, adding there were cities elsewhere “doing amazing stuff”.

A report, presented to a West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) committee, claimed the region’s economy was bouncing back from Covid, with employment rates continuing to rise despite the ending of the Government’s job retention scheme.

But committee member and Wakefield councillor Darren Byford (Lab) claimed the report did not take enough note of other areas, and suggested it relied too heavily on Leeds as a metric for the region’s success.

Coun Byford, who is also Wakefield Council’s executive member for regeneration, economic growth and property, told the meeting: “(The report) is very much Leeds-centric again. There are lots of big, valuable points being raised about Leeds, and others are being lost. If you look at the transport insights, it’s probably even more common.

“It’s not ‘Leeds Combined Authority’, it’s ‘West Yorkshire Combined Authority’. There are some very big cities out there that are not called Leeds, and are doing some amazing stuff.

“It’s not reflected in here.”

The authority’s business, economy and innovation committee heard how the number of PAYE payrolled employees in the region increased by 50,000 between November 2020 and November 2021, rising to 1.003 million.

It was added that the number of Universal Credit claimants was also reducing, but warned the numbers were “still very large”.

WYCA officer Tom Purvis told the meeting: “Employment is back above a million. It is much higher than employment figures in 2020. One of the good pieces is that all local authorities in West Yorkshire have got back to pre-crisis levels of employment.

“The re-imposition of restrictions could have an impact.”

“The vast majority have returned to work in one way or another, with the majority of those on the same hours or increased hours.

“There is plenty to be positive about. The employment picture is looking good, business investment is looking good, but there are persistent challenges.”