An expanded devolution deal for the North East has been welcomed by business groups in the region.
The £4bn deal - which will extend the current arrangements in the North of Tyne to cover Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham - aims to create 24,000 extra jobs, deliver 70,000 courses each year and leverage £5bn of private sector investment. Leaders of the North East England Chamber of Commerce, the CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses have welcomed what has been touted as the most generous per head in the country
If approved, the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) would be given a £1.4bn investment fund to be delivered over 30 years, control of up to £563m to improve the North East’s rail services, £17.4m for housing schemes, and a further £20m for regeneration projects. Local leaders would also have the power to bring the North East’s bus network back into public hands and full control over the areas’ £60m-a-year adult education and skills budget, while the deal is also expected to include the creation of a ‘green superport’.
