Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to support economic growth in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The Government's ambition is to support good growth across all parts of the United Kingdom. As set out in the Prime Minister's recent Machinery of Government Statement, No10 North will be responsible for driving good growth through devolution and working in close partnership with local leaders, businesses, and communities to strengthen place-based growth.

Staffordshire will receive £93m in transport capital funding between 2026/27 and 2029/30, enabling it to deliver more ambitious local transport improvements through a simplified, consolidated funding settlement.

Newcastle-under-Lyme will benefit from wider interventions to boost growth in the West Midlands, including the £25.3bn to progress the delivery of HS2 Phase One, improved connections to the South East, and funding to progress delivery of the Midlands Rail Hub to deepen connections with Wales and the South West. Conversations with local transport authorities are already taking place on the North – South New Rail Lines study, which is expected to bring further benefits to the region. The Government’s ambition is that every area in England has a strategic authority in place by 2027, or a plan for one, so that more power and resources are controlled locally to unlock more economic investment. This includes Newcastle-under-Lyme.

At Budget, the Government will publish a fiscal devolution roadmap which will set out a path to replacing grants from central government with a share of local income tax for every mayor beginning in 2028, such that where a region grows its tax base, it benefits from the increased receipts. This will sit alongside greater retention of the revenue from business rates for local councils and strategic authorities. The long-term certainty of funding via taxation will provide more flexibility and enable greater investment to fund interventions that will deliver a return.