CBI director general Digby Jones is to pay a two-day fact-finding visit to Cumbria next week.

He will meet senior executives from the county's firms to discuss the state of trade and local, national and international issues affecting their businesses.

Mr Jones, who has completed 12 months at the helm of the employers' organisation, is due to attend the CBI North West's inaugural annual dinner in Cumbria, sponsored by British Nuclear Fuels, at the North Lakes Hotel, Penrith, on January 24.

More than 150 top business people from across the region will attend the dinner, jointly hosted by the CBI North West, Cumbria Inward Investment Agency and the North West Development Agency.

Mr Jones will meet members of the Local Employers Network in Barrow at a breakfast seminar at Kimberley Clark Ltd in Barrow on January 25.

A number of visits to companies have also been lined up, including Burneside papermaker James Cropper and Furness Internet business eDirectory.