On the day the Vale of Mowbray pie factory was forced to close as its energy costs soared, the Chancellor of the Exchequer told The Northern Echo "there will be more support for businesses struggling with energy bills."
The government has set out its plan to drive economic growth through lower taxes and less red tape, with the new Investment Zones at the heart of that. The strategy came under a barrage of attacks after the financial markets reacted disastrously.
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But the Chancellor insisted the Government's Growth Plan "would provide support now for households and businesses. We are driving growth in a sustainable way and will also ensure debt falls in the medium term."
He pledged to continue supporting Teesside, saying it was now a 'baked-in' Government strategy: "I came here a lot when I was in the BEIS department and I love it here because it represents manufacturing and a dynamic private sector supported by Government, which is a really good relationship.
"As Chancellor I am very committed to making sure that what happens here on Teesside is championed. There is a huge opportunity here with offshore wind, batteries and the green transition.
"Is this still Levelling Up? Three years ago we talked about Levelling Up. But now I think the success we have seen on Teesside is so baked-in and understood in Government that this is natural Government policy.
"I'm really excited about the future here. If you look at seven years ago when the steel plant closed when there was so much pessimistic voices about the future of manufacturing. Turn the clock forward seven years and you find a vibrant industrial landscape."
Mr Kwarteng was visiting one of Darlington’s largest local employers, Cummins, hailing the company as a blueprint for high-quality job creation and enterprise. The visit came only a couple of hours after the company hosted the latest live event for the Northern Echo's Level Up campaign - featuring a discussion with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Darlington Economic campus Director Matthew Taylor about the region's growth.
The Chancellor also greeted staff based at Feethams House, and later met privately with the Mayor.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority is one of three to have expressed interest in establishing an Investment Zone in the North East.
Existing and prospective businesses in the zones stand to benefit from incentives such as 100% business rates relief on newly occupied business premises and a zero rate for Employer National Insurance contributions on salaries of any new employee working in the tax site for at least 60% of their time on earnings up to £50,270 per year.
The Investment Zone could also liberalise planning rules to release more land for housing and commercial development, as well as reforms to increase the speed of delivering development.
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