Questions surround the Government's levelling up agenda, what it will include and how it will be delivered after weeks' of delays to its white paper.

Writing exclusively in today's Northern Echo, Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, says  more devolution - like the Tees Valley Combined Authority - is needed, and other areas of the North East including County Durham and Wearside need to work together.

"Empowered local leaders have been a fundamental element of the Northern Powerhouse vision since its inception. George Osborne worked with council leaders, including Labour figures in this region, to sign a devolution deal for Tees Valley back in 2015. Whitehall ceded powers and funding to the regions to create the first Metro Mayors.

Bringing power closer to people is central to levelling up. Simply relocating civil servants doesn’t necessarily change anything because ultimately Ministers - and with them power - remain in Whitehall most of the time.

The first generation of mayors – both Conservative and Labour - have gone on to deliver big changes. They are uniquely positioned to address place-based issues that require joined up solutions such as skills and local transport, including better bus services.

They act as a local champion for their regions, fighting for investment from central government no matter their political party.

It’s not right that some places have these champions and others don’t. We need to extend devolution to cover Wearside and we need a county deal for Durham. The Leamside line needs to be reopened as an essential component of both those deals in order to bring connectivity benefits to the whole North East.

Back in 2018, Ben Houchen stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram and Dan Jarvis to call on government to devolve control over the new regional economic development funding – however there are now concerns over how much money will be available.

Our analysis with Teesside University and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that the government is planning to spend less on English regional development than was the case under Theresa May or David Cameron (2014-21).

We need levelling up to create a well-connected, skilled labour market that enables more businesses growth and more jobs. In time, that persistent productivity gap between north and south - which has weighed heavily on Treasury coffers for decades - will close."