Yorkshire MP Andrew Percy has been confirmed as the new Northern Powerhouse Minister. He takes over from the Stockton South MP James Wharton, who has been given a new job as a minister for International Development.
According to the previous Chancellor George Osborne, Treasury figures suggested that if the northern economy grew in line with the rest of the UK over the next 18 years, it would be worth an additional £44bn in real terms.
That is the equivalent of over £1,600 for each person living in the north.
The hope is to redress the North-South economic imbalance, and to attract investment into northern cities and towns.
A major part of the deal involves devolution - elected mayors with extra funding to promote economic investment and to make decisions about services such as planning and transport.
Not everyone thinks that the Northern Powerhouse will, or can, provide tangible benefits for the north.
The Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, the MP for Westmoreland and Lonsdale, recently described the Northern Powerhouse as 'smoke and mirrors'.
"I would personally like to thank the local community for their amazing donations of food, toiletries and clothing. "
Owners John and Irene Hays say there is ''light at the end of the tunnel'', after the pandemic forced them to close 650 UK stores.
There has been resistance to calls to dismantle memorials to the explorer.