The North is home to around 1.1 million businesses, more than 7.7 million jobs, and over 15 million people, with population growth of 6.7%. The North’s economy is around £343 billion, 19% of UK total. If the North were a country, it would be the 27th largest in the world.
However, overall productivity in the North still trails behind the UK average. The North’s economic value per person (measured as GVA) has been consistently around 15% below the average for the rest of the UK. More recent data reveals that gap has widened further, with the economic value (GVA) per person in the North now 18% below the UK average.
The Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review identified four areas where the North is highly skilled and globally competitive. These are called ‘prime capabilities: Advanced Manufacturing, Digital, Energy, and Health Innovation.
Promoting, growing and connecting the North’s prime capabilities could result in higher productivity. The prime capabilities are supported by three ‘enabling capabilities’. These are services or skills that provide the expertise and support for the North’s economy to flourish, and for its people to enjoy a better quality of life. These are: Education, Financial and Professional Services, and Logistics.
Download NPIER core messages
Having a reliable, resilient transport network for journeys to, from and within the North is an integral part of our vision. Our role in supporting economic growth is:
Delivering transformational change and economic growth needs to be based on detailed data, in depth analysis and consistent monitoring. That’s where our TAME team comes in.
Using data tools and industry intelligence, its aim is to build an evidence base that underpins the decisions of the organisation and drive key strategic outcomes.
It’s crucial we consider the wider economic and social impacts of the investment, and how it can benefit the wider economy.
We’re building the modelling for a functional framework that predicts what could happen in future, and ensure what we’re saying is credible.
Strategy and evidenceThe Northern Evidence Hub (NEH) brings together all the work done on the Northern Powerhouse into a single library of easily accessible reports.
The portal has been built to support Northern policymakers, giving them access to the same, wide-reaching evidence base, regardless of resource capacity.
Creating a more coherent, efficient and stronger evidence base for the North of England is crucial to making the case for investment in the region.
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If the economy of the North is transformed, by 2050 we could see around:
£100bn increase in GVA and 850,000 additional jobs.
To make this happen, we need significant, long term investment in the North’s transport network.
At a glance | Strategic Transport Plan
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