The Treasury has announced a new scheme to help consumers and businesses in regions throughout the UK to weather the oncoming financial storm.

Unveiled by the chief secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper MP, the new programme will focus on regional engagement and cooperation among local agencies to make sure there is a robust safety net in place to help residents and commercial enterprises struggling with the dual problems of inflation and constricted lending. The scheme also provides a platform for discussion of how the 22 billion pounds in public funding available to regional agencies would best be distributed, the Treasury insisted.

The framework for this discussion is set out in a new report entitled The Yorkshire and Humber Economy: a joint response to changing economic circumstances, which is the first in a series of documents to be published by regional development agencies and other local bodies. In addition, this study brought into play expanded rapid response task forces to help regions experiencing financial crisis.

For those who have found themselves unable to cope with the growing demands on expenditure in recent months, taking out a debt consolidation loan may prove an effective way to get finances back on track and reduce the likelihood of mispayments. Indeed, the Treasury warned that current demands are likely to abate in the near future.

Speaking at the launch of the new support programme, Ms Cooper said: “Global economic problems mean that businesses and families in every region will face tougher times ahead, but our regional economies are much stronger now after years of investment and growth. So we are determined that government, along with regional and local agencies, will work to ensure that businesses and households get the support they need. Looking ahead, we need to continue to make the investment that has supported regional regeneration and growth in the past, to ensure that growth continues well into the future.”

Meanwhile, in a prepared statement supporting the new report, the Treasury warned that regional agencies will need to prepare themselves in order to protect local economies as much as possible as high commodity prices and constricted lending put twin pressures on businesses and households. It will work continually throughout the summer with local organisations to assess which schemes are working and how dysfunctional policies can be amended. In the report, the Treasury warned that high oil prices and rising food costs are expected to hit all businesses, although it noted that the impact will vary between individual regions.

However, it did assert that years of economic prosperity and a strong framework of local investment have put the country in a strong position as the financial climate worsens. For example, it explained that the Yorkshire and Humber region alone has an economy equal in size to that of Denmark, Norway or Sweden.

For those who have been unable to protect themselves against rising costs and shrinking credit and have found their finances under pressure, taking out a debt consolidation loan may be of assistance in alleviating monthly pressures on spending. Meanwhile, for consumers worried about slipping into debt in the future, financial services provider Skipton has recently advised that the first course of action in surviving a recession should be to set out a stringent and realistic budget to help identify areas of unnecessary expenditure.

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