RENOWNED industrialist Sir Graham Hall is to lead the production of a far-reaching report to unite the economic might of the North of England to boost its future prosperity.

Sir Graham, 60, former chairman of Yorkshire Forward, brings a wealth of private and public sector experience to his new role as chairman of The Northern Way steering group.

He will oversee a period of sustained work to create a new framework for the North linking economic development, education, skills, housing and transport policies.

The steering group has been further bolstered by the appointment of Ed Balls, Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury, as personal representative of the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

Regional Development Agencies for the North of England have told the Government they want to create a "Northern Growth Corridor" to boost the productivity of the North, reduce regional disparities and tackle social exclusion by linking areas of opportunity with need.

A task group - chaired by One NorthEast chief executive Alan Clarke - will thrash out the fine detail of the report which will be submitted to government in the summer.

The Northern Way report aims to provide common strategic priorities across the North, raise economic aspirations within the Northern regions and influence government policy to promote flexible funding.

Sir Graham, who was chairman of Yorkshire Forward for five years until December 2003 and retired as chief executive of Yorkshire Electricity Group plc in April 2001, said: "I have a passion for the North of England, I've worked in the North most of my life, I still live in Yorkshire and I can see the tremendous latent potential it has.

"We have the talented people to seize this tremendous opportunity we have been given to combine our strengths to boost economic output and guide government policy.

"There are clear synergies between the three Northern regions. We need to have greater flexibility in the North to make better use of the money we get and have the power to make the decisions we need to make to achieve a real difference to business and society.

"Investing in our workforce through skills, training and education is crucial if we are to provide the employees that tomorrow's increasingly sophisticated employers will need."

Updated: 11:12 Tuesday, March 30, 2004