Chancellor John Healey is set to unveil a \u00a3150m fund for companies in the north of England as part of a wider plan to generate more economic growth around the UK.<\/p>\n
In a speech on Monday, he is expected to outline his proposal to boost development by using public investment to attract private capital.<\/p>\n
The speech comes against a challenging backdrop as the chancellor faces pressures ahead of his first Budget on 28 October, including concerns about a jump in government borrowing costs and the inflationary impact of the Iran war.<\/p>\n
In response to Healey’s plan, the Conservatives said that what was being proposed would “do little to comfort hard-working families and businesses”.<\/p>\n
Healey is set to announce a new \u00a3150m allocation from the British Business Bank which would offer support to the “most innovative and fast-growing firms”. <\/p>\n
He will detail plans to use public investment to “unlock private investment, to support our innovation economy, and to create the new jobs their areas need”.<\/p>\n
The fund, from money already allocated to the British Business Bank, will provide investments of between \u00a35m and \u00a315m. <\/p>\n
It is expected to back university spin-outs and other “ambitious businesses” across the north.<\/p>\n
The chancellor is expected to say: “The prime minister laid out a clear diagnosis of what has gone wrong in the past. The solution is a fundamental shift that starts with putting power in the right places.<\/p>\n
“The next chapter of Britain’s growth story will be written in more places.”<\/p>\n
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “Economic growth in every postcode sounds great and is something we would all love. I think it’ll actually be much harder to achieve in practice.”<\/p>\n
She said it would be easier to see how the government could make stronger second and third cities than to see “how it would drive growth in literally every postcode”.<\/p>\n
During his first Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday<\/a>, Andy Burnham faced scrutiny over rising UK borrowing costs. <\/p>\n Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged him to say how he would deal with the UK’s increasing debt, after the cost of borrowing for the UK reached a new 18-year high<\/a>.<\/p>\n Burnham blamed the previous Tory administration, and said his government would be “grounded in fiscal responsibility”.<\/p>\n Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said Healey’s plan would do “little to comfort hard-working families and businesses across the country who are worried about more tax rises or the fact that government borrowing rates are near a 28-year high”.<\/p>\n He added: “We are facing serious threats from Russia and Iran on our doorstep, as well as threats to the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n