As a think tank focusing on the economy in the North East and Cumbria, we set out five things the Chancellor’s budget needs to deliver for the region.
- Support for young people. Young people can be a productive engine of economic growth or a welfare cost to the state. We’re calling on the Government to accelerate the devolution of skills delivery to the region – the Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce and Councils all working together to tailor skills delivery to the needs of businesses in the True North. Specifically, the Chancellor needs to reverse the NI and minimum wage hikes on employing people under 25 to incentivise businesses to get young people into employment and drive economic growth.
- Reject the tourism tax – the visitor economy generates over £7bn annually and provides over 60,000 jobs in the North East alone. The sector does not need more taxes heaped on the challenges it’s facing with increased energy costs and employment costs. It’s already often cheaper for UK families to take a holiday abroad rather than spend their money on their doorstep in the UK.
- Raise the threshold on the family business tax to £5m. It’s fair that farmers and other owners of small businesses that are so important to the economy in the True North pay tax when they sell up but it’s not fair to tax them when they pass on these businesses to their family. This burdens businesses with costs they cannot afford or encourages them to sell out to foreign owners in many cases. The Chancellor needs to take this opportunity to send a clear message that this country values its wealth creators.
- True North is calling on the Chancellor to invest in our essential infrastructure. The A1 is a national disgrace, the main artery between the capitals of England and Scotland is clogged up in our region and this s a drag on growth, as well as an accident hot spot. The Chancellor can send a clear message that he wants growth in every postcode by announcing immediate investment in delivering dualling of the A1 and in the studies to dual the A69 in the future.
- Scrap the green levy – UK businesses cannot compete with European and US competitors because their energy costs are so much higher. This disproportionately effects businesses in the True North. The Chancellor can start to bring these costs down by immediately scrapping the green levy.
True North Chairman John Stevenson, former Chairman of the Northern Research Group of MPs and himself a businessman, commented “The things we are asking for are particularly important to our region. There is near-universal agreement that economic growth is a massive priority for the UK and we need these measures to be able to play our part in the True North. I’m hoping that the arrival of a new Prime Minister will signal a step change.”
