North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, said:
“Today is a major victory in our fight to end child poverty in the North East. We fought for the end of the cruel two-child benefit cap that pushed families into poverty and stifled opportunity. Today the Chancellor lifted that cap. This will change the lives of nearly 50,000 North East children. Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and this makes our £30m child poverty action plan even more impactful. At the same time more than 4,200 retired miners in our region will get bigger pension payments, something families across our region will celebrate.
“I lobbied government to keep bus fares affordable so I’m pleased they’ve listened and kept the cap. However, I’m planning to keep them even lower for North East passengers, with plans to freeze our £1 for young people aged 21 and under and a £2.50 fare for adults, that’s 50p cheaper than the national cap.
“A visitor levy means we can enter a new era of regional events and festivals. This will create thousands of jobs, while attracting even more visitors to our unique world heritage sites at Hadrian’s Wall and Durham Cathedral, our stunning coastlines and the iconic Tyne bridges and quayside.
“We’ve also secured £96m for a Local Growth Fund which we will use to help small businesses on our high streets and retail parks to grow and create new jobs for people right across our region.
“While I welcome these measures, we now must see more for the North East in the coming months. Including a commitment to re-opening a railway line connecting towns and villages in County Durham with our Metro at Washington, as well as upgrades to the East Coast Main Line.”