George Osborne: Why my plan will deliver for Yorkshire

It’s a plan for the next five years showing how we will take difficult decisions so that the country lives within its means and brings its debts down, while making sure we deliver opportunity for all.

We’ll protect and invest in the things that matter most to you: the security of strong police and defence budgets, new help to buy your own home, healthcare your family can rely on, good schools for your children and a higher state pension giving you security in retirement.

As an MP representing the North of England, I have made building the Northern Powerhouse central to our plans to rebalance the economy.

In the last Parliament, employment in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire rose by 115,000 and the number of businesses grew by 50,300.

This week I announced how we will spend £150bn on health, £45bn on schools and £13bn on transport across the Northern Powerhouse over the next five years, and give more spending power to local councils. But there is much more to do.

The first step is about going further than ever to rebalance the relationship between central and local government. We will end councils’ dependency on Whitehall by giving them unprecedented control over their own money, enabling them to drive the growth of business in their area – and reap the rewards that come when they do so.

With the radical devolution deal signed with the Sheffield City Region, a new elected mayor will take control of powers and budgets from London, this gives South Yorkshire access to £900m of additional funding as well greater control over transport, skills and business support.

Devolution will bring real change to your everyday lives – whether it’s how you travel to work, getting the skills you need for a great career, or the opportunity to bring jobs to your area, the decisions that affect you will be taken by those who know best what works for your region.

The second step is about helping businesses to grow and create jobs. We’ll do that through major investments in transport, science and innovation to make the North still more of a magnet for business and talent.

We’ll spend £13bn in transport across the Northern Powerhouse over the next five years and we are committing £200m investment in Transport for the North to make smart ticketing a reality.

The Tour de Yorkshire reminded everyone how important cycling is and we will deliver new cycle infrastructure including a 23km superhighway between Bradford and eastern Leeds.

But it’s about more than transport and connectivity. Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and that’s why we will help 71,400 of them with lower business rates, saving an average of £910.

We’ll also help create jobs and growth in new enterprise zones and we’re creating a £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to back SMEs.

It is vital we back the area’s natural strengths, so there will be £50m for two new agricultural technology centres in York, and we are giving National Parks like the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales new powers to drive revenue.

The final step is about selling the strengths of the Northern Powerhouse – encouraging investment and tourism to this wonderful part of the world.

That’s why over the next five years we will spend £22m on new trade missions showcasing the best of what the North has to offer global investors – just as we did in China this year alongside Northern businesses and council leaders

We are committing £1m more to expand Hull’s City of Culture 2017 programmes, plus £1m for the Yorkshire Festival next year and I’ve asked Sir Gary Verity to take forward a project for a Great Exhibition in the North, with £20m of backing.

The recent Rugby World Cup reminded us of the enormous appetite for major sporting events and so I’m delighted to say that the Government will also back plans to bring the Rugby League World Cup back to the North of England in 2021.

We have made difficult decisions since 2010 and this region has made great progress. Over the next five years, let’s work together to build the security that provides the foundations for everything we want to achieve.

George Osborne MP is Chancellor of the Exchequer.