Autumn Statement: The Northern Powerhouse

In his Autumn  Statement, George Osborne claimed to be making the biggest effort for 50 years to close the North/South divide.  Antony Hall, Partner and Head of Commercial at Mincoffs Solicitors gives his view on the Autumn Statement in relation to the Northern Powerhouse:

“I was encouraged to hear the Chancellor announce that transport capital spending would increase by 50%.  we were told that meant the beginning of the construction of HS2 to link the Northern Powerhouse to the South.  The Chancellor should of course have said that HS2 will link part of the Northern Powerhouse to the South (but not the (all-important) North East part).  This is not mere semantic hair-splitting – those of us involved in the digital sector in the North East know how important it is that the region’s part in the Northern Powerhouse is not overlooked  see Jo York’s excellent article.  Our North Eastern towns and cities stand to benefit from the newly created £400 million Northern Powerhouse investment fund (established to help small businesses grow) announced in the Autumn Statement; the shared fund makes it even more imperative that the North East voice of the Northern Powerhouse is heard distinctly to ensure that our region gets its fair share of investment. “