UK Chancellor George Osborne’s new fund is the latest in a series of government announcements designed to create a Northern Powerhouse economy in the North of England
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has used his Autumn Statement to confirm plans for a new sovereign wealth fund for the North of England.
Speaking to a packed House of Commons the Chancellor said the new fund would use tax receipts from the exploitation of shale gas reserves in the North of England to invest in economic development projects in the region.
The new fund is the latest in a series of government announcements designed to create a Northern Powerhouse economy in the North of England. The measures are designed to re-balance the British economy away from its over-dependence on London and the South East.
Speaking during his last Autumn Statement before the next General Election, Mr Osborne said: “We’re announcing a new sovereign wealth fund for the North of England so that the shale gas resources of the North are used to invest in the future of the North.”
The fund will be created once shale gas extraction commences. Estimates suggest 1,300 trillion cubic metres of shale gas reserves lie beneath the ground in the North of England.