Prime Minister’s speech encourages Britain to ‘Build, Build, Build’

Prime Minister’s speech encourages Britain to ‘Build, Build, Build’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today (Tuesday 30th June) announced a “New Deal” which puts jobs and infrastructure at the centre of the government’s economic growth strategy.

In a speech in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister will underline his commitment to ‘build, build, build’ in order to upgrade Britain’s infrastructure and skills to fuel economic recovery across the UK.

This speech has set out first step in government plans to “build back better” in the wake of coronavirus, for the benefit of every corner of the country.

The government is investing £5bn to accelerate infrastructure projects, fuelling jobs and economic recovery.

The Prime Minister announced that we bring forward £5bn of capital investment projects, supporting jobs and the economic recovery, including:

• £1.5bn this year for hospital maintenance, eradicating mental health dormitories, enabling hospital building, and improving A&E capacity. This will improve patient care, make sure NHS hospitals can deliver world-leading services and reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.

• £100m this year for 29 projects in our road network to get Britain moving, from bridge repairs in Sandwell to boosting the quality of the A15 in the Humber region. Plus £10m for development work to unblock the Manchester rail bottleneck, which will begin this year.

• Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21. These projects will be confirmed in the Autumn, and construction on the first sites will begin from September 2021.

• £560m and £200m for repairs and upgrades to schools and FE colleges respectively this year.

• £142m for digital upgrades and maintenance to around 100 courts this year, £83m for maintenance of prisons and youth offender facilities, and £60m for temporary prison places, creating thousands of new jobs.

• £900m for a range of ‘shovel ready’ local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next, as well as £96m to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year. This will provide all 101 towns selected for town deals with £500k-£1m to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets, and transport.

Commenting on ‘New Deal for Britain’, British Chambers of Commerce Director General Adam Marshall said: 

“The infrastructure delivery plans announced by the Prime Minister are welcome, but they must take shape on the ground swiftly to give a real confidence boost to businesses and communities.

“The government must go even further over the coming days to rekindle business and consumer confidence, as part of a wider roadmap to economic recovery. This is a critical moment, and business communities need this government to be bolder than any previous government has ever been.

“In his first inaugural speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, ‘We must act, and act quickly’. The same holds true in Britain today.”

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