Kromek

Dr Arnab Basu MBE, CEO of Sedgefield-based Kromek, said: “The Prime Minister and Chancellor face an unenviable challenge of navigating dire global economic conditions while seeking to deliver domestic growth and supporting vulnerable families during a period of high inflation.

“Mr Hunt’s commitment to delivering growth in innovation and technology is welcome – we in the UK have to demonstrate a long-term plan to build a resilient economy based around innovation and supply chain resilience.

“In my opinion, much more radical approaches need to be considered to accelerate levelling-up, such as regional tax variations to encourage enterprise and attract job creators and high-skilled people to see the North East as their home.

“Tax increases for electric cars could have an undesirable effect on achieving our carbon neutral goals as a country while the adoption is steadily increasing.”