The National Wealth Fund has agreed strategic partnerships with four regional authorities across England and Wales, as Chancellor John Healey sets out a broader regional growth package anchored by a £150m fund for northern businesses.

According to the Treasury, the state-backed National Wealth Fund will partner with the mayoral combined authorities of South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, the North East, and the Cardiff Capital Region. Ministers say the agreements will give these regions direct access to investment expertise to help build project pipelines, draw in private funding, and deliver local infrastructure.

The move coincides with the formal unveiling on Monday of a £150m scale-up fund administered by the British Business Bank. Allocated from existing budgets, the fund will provide investments of between £5m and £15m to support university spin-outs and fast-growing commercial ventures across the north of England.

In his speech, Mr Healey is expected to declare that "the next chapter of Britain's growth story will be written in more places across the country", seeking to strike an optimistic tone about regional renewal despite ongoing cost pressures facing businesses and households.

Setting out his approach, the Chancellor will argue that genuine growth must be felt locally: "Ask an economist what growth is and you'll get a number. But ask the country and you'll get a different answer. A young person getting a new job in a company that's on the up. A sole trader winning a new contract that pays for a holiday with their kids." He will also point to work between the Treasury and No 10 North aimed at dismantling local planning and investment barriers.

The announcements come against a backdrop of tight public finances ahead of Mr Healey's first Budget on 28 October. Ministers are managing elevated government borrowing costs alongside wider inflation pressures linked to the conflict involving the US and Iran.

Those fiscal constraints were underlined at Prime Minister's Questions, where Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended his record against Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, arguing the administration remains "grounded in fiscal responsibility" while coping with high debt-servicing costs.

Economic specialists continue to urge caution over localised initiatives. Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has noted that driving sustainable economic growth across "literally every postcode" is far more difficult in practice than targeting major second and third cities.

Opposition parties have also criticised the Treasury's approach. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the measures would do little for families concerned about potential tax rises and borrowing costs, while Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper argued that spreading £150m across the North would "barely shift the dial". Reform UK economic spokesman Robert Jenrick claimed the Chancellor had offered no clear rescue plan following recent market volatility.

What we still do not know is which individual companies will receive the first allocations from the £150m fund, or how rapidly the new National Wealth Fund partnerships can convert regional pipelines into private investment on the ground. I will be watching closely as the Treasury begins rolling out these programmes ahead of next month's Budget.