The meeting began with the Prime Minister welcoming her Cabinet
to the North East before reflecting on what has been delivered in
this Parliamentary session.
This includes the introduction
of 37 main programme bills, with 23 of
these having already secured Royal Assent, including the Energy
Cap Bill, meaning the cap can be introduced this winter,
protecting 11 million households from unfair energy prices.
Cabinet welcomed today’s announcement of £780 million for the
East Coast Main Line with the Transport Secretary confirming the
investment will mean passengers travelling between northern
towns and cities will see major improvements, more seats and
faster, more frequent journeys.
The Business Secretary led a discussion
on the role of Local Economic Partnerships. He set
out how Local Industrial Strategies and the UK
Shared Prosperity Fund are fundamental to our aim of delivering
growth across the country, including in the North East and across
the Northern Powerhouse.
The Prime Minister also asked the Minister for the Northern
Powerhouse, , to discuss how all of
Government can work together to promote investment in northern cities and local
economic regions and Cabinet discussed the North of Tyne
devolution deal.
Cabinet also discussed the progress of the government’s skills
agenda, agreeing that the focus of our skills reforms should be
on delivering high quality training for people at all stages, but
especially the intermediate level technical skills, where
employers have reported shortages.
Education Secretary discussed the importance of apprenticeships -
especially in the Midlands and the North East - and how
investment in further education and training can deliver the
skills needed to meet public sector workforce challenges,
providing new routes into occupations such as nursing, teaching
and care work.
The Prime Minister recognised the importance of providing
adequate access to retraining to ensure the economy can meet the
changes it faces in the future.
Finally the International Trade Secretary, , discussed the government’s Export
Strategy, due to be published shortly.
