Today’s Chancellor’s Spending Review has committed in cash the funding needed to narrow the North South divide which has put his constituency and other parts of Yorkshire at a disadvantage for so long. Rishi Sunak announced a new £4 billion pound fund for ‘levelling up’ to which any local area can bid for the funding of local projects. The Chancellor also confirmed plans to launch a new infrastructure bank to be headquartered in the north of England.
This is the best possible news for northern constituencies like mine. This government made levelling up a central plank of its agenda and now it has put its money where its mouth is. I have been calling for a fairer share of spending for the North, particularly in transport infrastructure and for housing since the day I was elected to Parliament and today it has been delivered. I will certainly look forward to working with my local councils to ensure that we access it for the many projects that have not seen the light of day because of a lack of funding, in particular the dualling of the A64.”
The Chancellor announced that total spending on infrastructure will reach £100 billion next year with plans to deliver the highest levels of sustained investment in 40 years. Speaking in the House after the statement I welcomed the government’s commitment to investment and, in particular, the levelling up fund and changes to the Green Book, the manual used by ministers to make investment decisions which currently favour the South. I also urged Mr Sunak to review the Housing infrastructure fund which he said also has a built in bias towards the South East.
In addition to his announcements on infrastructure the Chancellor announced;
- A further £55 million to help with our response to coronavirus, including £18 billion for mass testing, Test and Trace, PPE and vaccines, and £3 billion to support NHS recovery.
- A funding boost for the NHS of £6.6 billion, allowing him to deliver 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments. We investing in new technologies, building 40 new hospitals, upgrading 70 more and replacing the vast majority of ageing diagnostic equipment.
- More money for schools, meaning every pupil in the country will see a year-on-year funding increase of at least 2 per cent. It is also funding its commitment to rebuild 500 schools over the next decade and are providing £375 million to deliver the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
- £400 million to recruit 6,000 new police officers, meaning it is on track to meet its manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers by 2023.
- More than £24 billion investment in defence, the biggest sustained increase in 30 years, allowing the government to provide security not just for our country but around the world.
- An increase in core spending power for local authorities by an estimated 4.5 per cent, along with over £3 billion of additional coronavirus support and an extra £254 million of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
- Support for every country across the United Kingdom, increasing Scottish Government funding by £2.4 billion, Welsh Government funding by £1.3 billion, and £900 million for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Mr Sunak also announced a pay rise to over 1 million nurses, doctors and others working in the NHS and guaranteed a pay rise of at least £250 for the 2.1 million public sector workers who earn below the median UK wage of £24,000, protecting the lowest-paid. He also said, to ensure fairness between the private and public sectors, he would be pausing pay rises in the rest of the public sector.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP said: “Today’s Spending Review delivers the priorities of the British people. Our health emergency is not yet over, and the economic emergency has only just begun; so our immediate priority is to protect people’s lives and livelihoods. But today’s Spending Review also delivers stronger public services - paying for new hospitals, better schools and safer streets. And it delivers a once-in-a-generation transformation in our approach to infrastructure. Creating jobs, growing the economy, and increasing pride in the places people call home.”
