Does the Budget start to deliver on the government's 'levelling up' pledges?

The new Chancellor Rishi Sunak used the term "level up" or "levelling up" seven times during his speech today - and yet, the Budget was perhaps a bit of anticlimax when it comes to that big mission.

Ours is probably the region which needs the most attention, to try to close the gap with richer parts of the country, when it comes to everything from GCSE grades to productivity levels and life expectancy.

None of these things were going to be fixed overnight, but this new government has set its sights high - unusually, making more promises since the election than during the campaign.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly talked about repaying the faith of voters who "lent" their support to the Conservatives in December, there are an enthusiastic new set of North East Conservatives who will want to keep their seats next time around, and now a North Yorkshire MP in charge of the country's purse strings.

As politicians on all sides accept, the government's priority right now is tackling the coronavirus outbreak. Perhaps it should have tried to temper expectations when it came to other parts of the Budget.

The Chancellor confirmed today that a new "economic campus" housing staff from the Treasury and other departments would be based somewhere in the North of England, with Teesside thought to be a frontrunner.

There was a stronger hint of support for a huge new carbon capture project at the old Redcar steelworks site, as well as announcements of money for the Tyne and Wear Metro and Darlington Station, and improving A1 and A19 road connections north of Newcastle.

Of course, it's not all about building projects, day-to-day funding matters too. Reviewing Treasury value-for-money rules could also bring about greater investment for our region in the future. And there's a Spending Review later in the year.

For now though, there was little on a regional scale to really capture the imagination of ordinary voters and demonstrate what that "levelling up" slogan will look like in practice.