Member Article

Nine Chambers issue Northern Powerhouse priorities to Chancellor

The North East Chamber of Commerce has joined eight other Chambers in the North of England in writing a joint submission to the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which will be announced in November.

The North East Chamber of Commerce has joined eight other Chambers in the North of England in writing a joint submission to the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), which will be announced in November.

Together, the nine Chambers represent over 16,000 businesses employing over 1.4m workers across the North of England. Their submission aims to highlight the considerable opportunities the Northern Powerhouse can provide the UK economy.

Commenting on the submission, Ross Smith, Director of Policy from North East Chamber of Commerce said: “The North of England’s economy represents a quarter of the whole of the UK. However, for several decades the North’s economy has underperformed. In this submission we urge the Chancellor to take the opportunity now, to change the rhetoric and start a meaningful conversation.

“The UK economy is presently in a much weaker position that it could be, and the capacity clearly exists within our regions to deliver a significant increase to UK GDP. Unlocking this opportunity should be a national economic priority and not left in a ‘regional policy’ niche.

“We have produced the priorities we believe will enhance the Northern Powerhouse initiative and it is time to see these priorities met.

“As a group of Chambers of Commerce, we will work closely together to ensure that business across the North lie at the heart of the changes to come. We want the Northern Powerhouse to become a reality and we are committed to playing our part to make it happen. We are willing to work with Government to develop these in greater detail in the weeks ahead.”

Key recommendations to the Treasury include:

• On transport infrastructure investment the paper calls for a changing of the criteria for how infrastructure spending is allocated, as it currently massively favour London.
• On energy generation an equalising of the charges to connect to the National Grid, would stop disincentivising energy generation in areas of the North. The paper acknowledges that despite there being some logic for lower connection charges in the South that “this approach is failing at present” given that “the National Grid has estimated that there may be as little as 1% spare generating capacity at peak times this winter, leaving UK industry vulnerable.”
• On skills funding: the submission calls for placing less of a “heavy emphasis on very young people (16-18) when in many parts of the North with an older demography” arguing that it is “essential to ensure slightly older workers can be re-trained if we are to meet our future skills needs.”
• On immigration: the paper argues that “restrictions on international students remaining in the UK to work are detrimental to areas of the North where there is less population pressure and a greater need for higher levels of enterprise”.

The nine involved Chambers are: Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, North East Chamber of Commerce, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

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