Health vital for economic growth

I WAS raised in India, and moved to the UK to study at Northumbria and then Durham University. But when it came time to build a life and a business, I chose County Durham. I saw in this region a deep well of potential in its people, its ideas, and its sense of community.

- Arnab Basu

More than two decades later, I'm still convinced that the North East can lead a new era of growth for the UK. Our workforce is talented and resilient. We are well positioned to take the lead.

But potential is not enough. For too long, too many in our region have been left behind by national economic progress. Turning growth into opportunity will require us to start with something fundamental: improving the health and wellbeing of our people.

At Kromek, based at NETPark in Sedgefield, we design and manufacture technologies with global impact - devices that detect cancer, viruses, and radiation threats. We do all of this from the North East. Our region proves every day we can be leaders in innovation.

However, innovation alone can't sustain growth. Not when the communities powering our economy face some of the UK's deepest health challenges. According to a 2023 report from Health Equity North and the Point North Community Foundation, the North East has lower life expectancy than much of the country. Healthy life expectancy for men here is more than four years below the national average. Almost 39% of children grow up in poverty. One in four adults lives with a limiting long-term illness.