One year on from MG Rover's collapse, manufacturing in the region is still counting the cost, the CBI has claimed.

Grey Denham, regional chairman, said the West Midlands was suffering the "ripple effect" of the car manufacturer's 2005 demise.

Mr Denham, who is also company secretary of engineering firm GKN, said: "There are some issues sourcing metal components in the region because of the number of firms now in administration because of Rover.

"One of our members now has five or six of his suppliers in administration and is having difficulty maintaining continuity of supply."

However, Mr Denham was upbeat that the worst side-effects of Rover's collapse were now over.

"When things like this happen they always affect the weakest.

"The strongest will survive, it's just that its taken a bit longer than we might have expected for the impact to subside."

He also stressed that the recent announced closure of Peugeot's Ryton plant in Coventry had little impact of the majority of the region's manufacturers.

"Most suppliers were aware of the situation and had already taken steps before the announcement was made," he said.

"Although Ryton is a car assembly plant, most of the parts came from Continental Europe.

"Therefore, it will not impact on the region's supply base in the same way as Rover."

Mr Denham's comments came after a meeting of the CBI's West Midland Council at LDV's headquarters yesterday.

The meeting, attended by incoming national director general Richard Lambert, discussed the state of the region's economy and the Government's plans for the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mr Denham said the West Midland economy was "a curate's egg", with a mild upturn in sales tempered by a cautious outlook for the next quarter.

"There has been increased optimism regarding general business prospects and a significant upturn in turnover volumes compared to last quarter," Mr Denham said.

"There is also a feeling that volumes will remain up over the next quarter. However, there is a view, particularly in manufacturing and services, that this should not be viewed as the start of an uptick. Price and cost issues are still very much there, with significant concern over the cost of gas and electricity."

With regards to Government spending, Mr Denham said the council was keen to see money spent as efficiently as possible.

"The general view is, that as a percentage of GDP, Government spending is too high," he said.

"This does not mean we need to cut back on services, but that things could be done more efficiently.

"The view is that the Civil Service needs to become more productive and move away from the idea that a pot of money must be spent just to make sure the same budget is given the following year."

Other areas of concern included a needed for further technology and innovation support, reduction of red tape and a need for the Government to deal with the challenge of an ageing population and climate change.