ONE of Britain’s top bosses is convinced public sector cuts will not put the economic and other advantages of York and North Yorkshire at risk.

Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute of Directors (IoD) told The Press in an exclusive interview there were “big, complex problems” about the private sector being able to fill the public sector gaps.

He said: “It will take time to do it constructively, but it is better to start rather than delay. As soon as we take the medicine, the sooner the economy will be in a position to start to rebuild itself.”

The former managing director of Threshers and then the Whitbread Beer Company was interviewed on his way to York yesterday to address Yorkshire IoD members at Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough and also preparing to meet educationalists at York College.

He recognised public sector employment in York and North Yorkshire accounted for 28.8 per cent of the region’s total employment. Even at 2004 regional figures, there were nearly 94,500 people working in 3,000 organisations.

He also conceded the strength and appeal of the area was due to its high quality of life, education, housing and healthcare, relatively low crime rate and good transport communications, but he said: “It is wrong to think that all that will now be put at risk.

“The impact is significant, but we hope the cuts will be manageable. We also hope that there will not just be savings in labour costs, but on other activities as well.

“The task ahead is to stimulate growth in a whole variety of ways.”

One of those ways was through education. “It is more important than ever that education focuses on providing a range of skills for people leaving but also for people retraining to skill up for new careers.

“Universities and further education colleges have special responsibility in the process,” he said.

Mr Templeman, who represents 40,000 directors nationally, about 2,000 of them in Yorkshire, added that he was “optimistic, but realistic. We have a big struggle, but there is no alternative but to start the process.”