THE CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer has been in north Wales today (November 23) following his Autumn statement.

This week, it was announced that plans for an Investment Zone worth up to £160 million in North East Wales have come a step closer after the UK Government pledged to support it.

The news was announced in the House of Commons by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday, November 22. 

The Chancellor is today visiting north east Wales, home to two of the largest industrial estates in Europe at Deeside and Wrexham and a thriving Creative & Digital sector, which will receive the investment for innovation, infrastructure and skills and training projects.

Subject to a business case the Wrexham Flintshire Investment Zone will have access to support worth up to £160 million over ten years, with the new status expected to leverage an additional £1.7 billion of investment for the area and help create thousands of new jobs.

Chester and District Standard: Jeremy Hunt has been at Airbus' Broughton site today.

Chancellor Hunt has insisted that the tax cuts he announced in the Autumn statement were “the single biggest thing I could do for long-term growth”.

Speaking from the Airbus factory in Broughton, he told Times Radio that he opted for national insurance and business tax cuts because they “will make the biggest difference to our long-term competitiveness”.

He said: “It’s a fundamental Conservative principle that we think you need to grow the cake before you have discussions about how you cut it up.

“I can make a start – and that’s what I did yesterday – in reducing the tax burden, but I’ve chosen to do it in a way that’s going to grow the economy.”