Our first Regional Business Council roundtable

HM Treasury has announced that the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget will take place on November 26^th this year, with organisations having the opportunity to submit their policy proposals to influence the UK Government’s fiscal priorities. As part of this process, we were delighted to bring together 20 leaders from business, education and the charitable sector from across the North East, to advise a representation submitted on behalf of our North East Business Council.

Kiran Fothergill, Chairman of our North East Business Council and Director at Pickerings Lifts, led sessions alongside our Research Director, Nick Tyrone, and members of our North East Steering Group. Also in attendance were our Chief Executive, Georgiana Bristol, Business Council Manager, Kellen, and representatives from the Foundation of Light, the Housing and Employability Network North East, the Recruitment Junction, Cyber North, Thirteen Group, Recognition PR, the University of Sunderland, Coach Core, the Waymaker Group, Tees Maritime, and the education consultancy, Charlotte Noon Coaching.

The event began with a roundtable discussion, chaired by Nick, aimed at establishing the ‘big picture’ in the region ahead of November 26^th. Participants were invited to identify their concerns, causes for optimism, and hopes for the Chancellor’s Budget, following Nick’s analysis on the UK’s economic situation & likely Budget announcements.

Following this session, participants were divided into three groups for ‘spotlight sessions’ chaired by Alison Dunn, CEO of the Society Matters Group, Stuart Fearn MBE, CCO at OneBanx and John McDonald, Founder of the award-winning disability inclusion consultancy Eagles Wings. These sessions were aimed at addressing North East success stories & Best Practice, the existing barriers to individuals from non-traditional backgrounds entering the workplace, and policy proposals that would support the region’s employers in this space. 

These sessions were then fed back to the full group, before Kiran invited participants to make any additional comments. The participants were then invited by Kiran to identify the key policy proposals from the event that they would like the Jobs Foundation to take forward.

Following this event, the Jobs Foundation team will be producing a representation to the Budget based on the group’s policy proposals, as well as a document highlighting the broad themes discussed, which will form the basis of our policy work in the region going forward.

Special thanks must go to the University of Sunderland, their Chancellor, Leanne Cahill, and their Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Milan Radosavljevic, without who this event wouldn’t have been possible. We hope to continue to work closely with the University of Sunderland, and the region’s other higher education institutions, as we continue to expand our North East Business Council.

We look forward to replicating the success of this event at the Exeter College of Further Education Institute of Technology, for our South West Business Council Roundtable in November, as well as across the rest of the UK as we continue to launch Regional Business Councils throughout 2026 and 2027. If you are interested in supporting the growth of our Regional Business Councils in any way, please contact our Business Council Manager, Kellen, at kellen@thejobsfoundation.com.