UK Chancellor Healey to unveil £150m northern fund in Monday speech

September 7, 2026 at 04:34 AM2 min

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Chancellor John Healey will announce a £150m fund for innovative firms in northern England during a speech on Monday. He will also say the UK economy is turning a corner ahead of his 28 October Budget. The announcement comes despite concerns over government borrowing costs and the inflationary impact of the Iran war.

Key Facts

The £150m fund will provide investments of between £5m and £15m to the most innovative and fast-growing firms in northern England.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver his Budget on 28 October.
Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said government borrowing rates are near a 28-year high.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said economic growth in every postcode will be much harder to achieve in practice.

The £150m Fund

The £150m fund will be drawn from money already allocated to the British Business Bank. It will provide investments of between £5m and £15m to the most innovative and fast-growing firms. The fund is expected to back university spin-outs and other ambitious businesses across the north of England. Healey will say the fund is part of a wider plan to generate more economic growth around the UK.

Budget Pressures

Healey faces pressures ahead of his first Budget, including concerns about government borrowing costs and inflationary impacts of the Iran war. Recent ructions in government debt markets have made constrained public finances worse. The Treasury needs to fill possible multi-billion pound gaps caused by rising borrowing costs and the need to fund higher defence spending. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said Healey's plan would do little to comfort hard-working families and businesses worried about more tax rises or borrowing rates near a 28-year high.

Reaction

Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said economic growth in every postcode sounds great but will be much harder to achieve in practice. She said it would be easier to see how the government could make stronger second and third cities than to drive growth in literally every postcode. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the UK faces serious threats from Russia and Iran on its doorstep, as well as threats to the Falkland Islands.