AS head of the leading business membership organisation in the region, and as a former banker, I look forward to the rest of the year with a degree of trepidation and excitement.

The financial gurus reading the runes are predicting a turbulent time - particularly with oil topping $100 a barrel, food price inflation rampant and a hefty foot on the brake of house price rises.

However, this is countered by recent news that the North-East outperformed in 2006 all other regions in England, with the exception of London.

Data always lags reality, but this was a situation evidently clear to the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) at the time, because of the incredibly positive anecdotal evidence we were receiving. This positivity was only eclipsed by the near daily stories we were receiving from members in last year. We'll need to wait another year for those figures, yet the feedback was of a phenomenal year.

Here in the North-East, we have waited a long time for these levels of positivity and it was brilliant to hear them eventually backed by the official statistics. However, we now hear that this year will be extremely difficult and it will be a test of that newfound optimism.

This is where NECC will work doubly hard for its members to ensure that they continue to thrive even in the toughest conditions.

One area in particular that we will focus on this year is public sector procurement.

The public sector in the North-East spends a whopping £3.5bn buying in goods and services.

However, only 45 per cent of that is spent within the region. In the latter half of last year, NECC, in conjunction with The Northern Echo, launched a campaign to redress this issue.

The Buy North East campaign aims to encourage local authorities in the region to increase the proportion spent in the North-East each year by one per cent - which would generate an extra £1.3bn gross value added and 6,000 jobs within a decade. The thrust of the campaign is to help the public sector to recognise private sector providers can add value, and that there is an increased economic, social and environmental dividend from North-East firms. In order to maximise this, the process for companies wishing to supply local authorities and other public sector bodies must be simplified.

In the face of increasing global economic pressures, there is a simple change on our doorsteps that would ensure the North-East remains at the forefront of the league tables of economic growth. I hope our public sector appreciates this, and embraces the few, simple changes necessary to support our continued success.

■ James Ramsbotham is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce