A NEW policy chief has been elected by small business leaders to fight for their interests in Yorkshire and Humber as the economy recovers.

She is therapeutic consultant, Janice Haigh, who has been elected Yorkshire and Humber policy chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which has 16,000 members in the region. She is the second woman in succession elected to the post.

Janice, who originally worked in export sales, now provides complementary therapies, counselling and neuro-linguistic programming to businesses and individuals.

She joined the FSB Wakefield branch in 2000 and was first elected to its policy committee early in 2009.

She said: “Small businesses are now, perhaps more than ever, the backbone of the region’s economy and have a major role to play in its economic recovery.

“The change of Government and slow emergence from recession will bring a lot of national decisions with a big local impact and makes these exciting, but challenging, times.

“I fully intend for the FSB to make a full contribution to wider debate in the region and for its views to be heard.”