00:00The North East has given a mixed reaction to the government's latest autumn budget,
00:04with leaders welcoming some support for families,
00:07but warning that the region will need far more investment in the months ahead.
00:11One of the biggest announcements was the end of the two-child benefit cap,
00:15a move expected to lift thousands of children in the North East out of hardship.
00:20Many local MPs have called it a major step towards tackling child poverty
00:23after years of campaigning from councils, charities and community groups.
00:27There was also news for household budgets.
00:30The Chancellor confirmed a cut of £150 from annual energy bills,
00:34offering some relief as winter approaches.
00:37National insurance and income tax thresholds, however,
00:40will remain frozen for three more years beyond 2028,
00:44meaning more workers across the North East could drift into higher tax brackets as wages rise.
00:49The region's economy reaction has been more cautious.
00:52The North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said that while she welcomes new powers to introduce a tourist tax,
00:57a levy she says could fund festivals, jobs and boost tourism,
01:00major projects were notably absent from the announcement.
01:04There was no firm commitment to the Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme,
01:07and the long-awaited reopening of the Leam sideline remains undecided.
01:12Calls for upgrades to the A19 at Moir Farm,
01:14more trains for the Northumberland line,
01:16and additional backing for Sunderland's Crown Works film studios were also not addressed.
01:21Instead, the region will receive £96 million through a local growth fund.
01:26We've hoped this will support small businesses, town centres and regeneration plans from Gateshead to the coast.
01:32Council's also welcomed a new surcharge on high-value properties,
01:36which could raise millions nationally through council tax,
01:39though many warn it won't fix long-term pressures on local authority budgets.
01:43To add to this, Jane Black, the Digital Futures Policy Manager of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the North East,
01:50believes the government has missed the opportunity to provide support for small and medium-sized businesses,
01:55alongside the newly introduced Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
01:59Certainly was a lot to welcome in the budget, particularly in terms of engineering technology.
02:03So there's investment for apprenticeships, which will really help tackle skill shortages.
02:10And for that, we know that large businesses often do better for completion rates of apprenticeships.
02:17And what we now need is that much-needed focus for smaller businesses
02:21and helping with the local training providers to make sure that those apprenticeships are as successful as possible.
02:28But we also saw some things missing from the budget yesterday.
02:31For example, a focus on cyber security.
02:34With the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill that's going through Parliament at the moment,
02:38that would have been an ideal opportunity to do so.
02:41What we know is that two-thirds of the public think that the government needs to prioritise this more
02:46and that 70% think businesses need to do more.
02:49But it is hard for smaller businesses to do that.
02:51So we were calling for tax breaks for smaller businesses to help them reskill and reinvest to bolster their cyber security defences.
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