By Karen Sibson, Manchester Chamber of Commerce

FORMER BBC industrial correspondent Felicity Goodey promised the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Manchester Chamber in her inaugural speech as newly-elected president.

Succeeding John McGuire, Felicity called on the government to smarten up its act on infrastructure and the provision of education and health services, saying all were needed to enable businesses to flourish.

She said: ‘‘Our transport infrastructure is creaking at the seams. We have a brilliant airport, but our rail links are a shambles. With the demise of Railtrack, and all the potential litigation, how long now before we get that often promised, decent service linking us to London?

‘‘The Chamber will be pressing for urgent action to deliver us an efficient, clean, safe and integrated network of public transport services.’’

Also chair of the Regional Development Agency and the Lowry Trust, the former broadcaster acknowledged the many new industries, in media and information communication technology (ICT), which contribute enormously to the region’s economy.

Felicity, who runs two businesses in the media and leisure sectors, recognised that manufacturing remains a vital component of the local economy, but the so-called new industries have the potential to put Manchester back on the world map.

‘‘ICT together with media and new media,’’ she said, ‘‘contributes around £6.75bn to the economy of this region and much of it is concentrated in this city.’’

Conference

The Chamber’s annual meeting was followed by a business conference featuring guest speakers Salford MP Hazel Blears and Manchester City manager Kevin Keegan.

Hazel Blears, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, announced a new government initiative to promote a bigger take up of occupational health services by the business sector.

NHS Plus will give businesses the chance to offer health services such as screening programmes, health checks or inoculations for their employees.

‘‘I think that it’s in all of our interests that we make health at work an important part of our development strategy.’’

The Salford MP, previously Manchester City Council’s Principal Solicitor, also explained that the government has changed emphasis in the way it deals with business in a bid to reduce red tape.

She said: ‘‘Our new initiative - Think Small First - requires every single government department to think about the impact on small and medium sized enterprises of everything they do.

‘‘Whether it be regulation, legislation, directives or any of the measures they bring in, they’ve got to think about how it will affect small businesses, what sort of impact it will have and is there any other way of achieving this without putting extra administrative burdens on business.’’