New deal to fix low pay and boost job options

THE North East Combined Authority has approved ambitious plans bosses say will make the region the best place in the country to work.

- JAMES ROBINSON

The so-called New Deal for North East Workers sets out future investment in the economy in a bid to remove barriers for both workers and employers.

Mayor Kim McGuinness said she hoped the strategy would provide opportunities for the region’s young people, meaning they could remain in their native North East rather than leaving for the likes of London for work. She also said she hoped it would make the region the “best place to work” in the country.

The North East has some of the highest rates of both economic inactivity and youth unemployment in the country.