Weaker pound can help Yorkshire & Humber’s economy

The soaring value of the euro (and corresponding drop in the exchange rate of the pound) has been given extensive coverage in the media but it is not entirely bad news.

Because the EU budget is calculated in euros it means that the value in pounds of the EU regional funding we receive has suddenly risen dramatically. In 2009, Britain is set to receive around €3 billion in structural funds, worth approximately £2.2 billion this time last year. With the pound having lost around 25% against the euro since then, the amount, at the present exchange rate, would be around £2.85 billion - an extra windfall of over £600 million.

Yorkshire & Humber receives a significant amount of this, and should consequently be a beneficiary of this extra European money. What is imperative now, is that the government, our region’s development agency (Yorkshire Forward) and businesses make sure they make the most of this windfall by spending it on job-creating investments, training programmes and regeneration projects.

Another benefit in the rise of the euro is that its higher value means that there is a corresponding increase in the purchasing power of our main export market. This increases export opportunities for local firms to the eurozone. Again, Yorkshire & Humber is particularly well placed to take advantage of this, with the Humber ports our export highway to the continent.