Carlisle's presence within the Northern Powerhouse steps up a gear today.

City MP John Stevenson is to jointly chair a new Northern Powerhouse all-party Parliamentary group (APPG) which is to be launched in the House of Commons this afternoon.

The APPG has been set up by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

George Osborne, partnership chairman and former Chancellor, visited Carlisle on Friday.

The cross-party group is made up of northern MPs, peers, civic leaders and businesses.

Mr Stevenson, one of four joint chairs, said: "I am delighted to be a chair of the Northern Powerhouse APPG that has been set up by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. Carlisle is central to the Northern Powerhouse agenda – representing the ‘true North’ of the region.

"I am looking forward to driving this initiative in Parliament to increase investment in and awareness of the North as a place that drives business, skills and economic growth."

His fellow joint chairs are Caroline Flint, Julie Elliott and Kevin Hollinrake.

Major focus areas for the group will be raising educational standards across the North and narrowing the skills gap, working to improve rail, road and air links, increasing productivity and exploring further devolution deals for the region.

Coinciding with today's launch, details of a major summit - The Northern Powerhouse Education and Skills Conference - have been revealed. It will be held in Leeds next February.

Speakers will include Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield and Sir Michael Wilshaw, former Chief Inspector of Schools.

This will build on a major report NPP will publish in January.

Last week, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a funding boost of up to £1.8bn for the Northern Powerhouse.

On Friday, George Osborne addressed more than 100 business leaders in The Halston, Carlisle to build support for the Northern Powerhouse.

He also urged the county to “think again” about accepting a Devolution Deal, and stressed the key strengths of the North – manufacturing, healthcare, digital and energy were all present in Cumbria, and that the county was a “world leader” in nuclear.

On the Borderlands initiative he stressed that partners needed to work together and be mindful of the “bigger picture”.