Member Article

Alexander reveals £28bn of roads spending

The Highways Agency will be made into a public organisation as the Government pledges to spend over £28bn on road development and maintenance between 2015 and 2020.

Setting out the detail of the Chancellor’s Spending Review, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury also promised £30bn of investment in rail and £10bn to fix crumbling schools.

£250m will be made available to make sure superfast broadband will reach at least 95% of the population by 2017.

Danny Alexander also told the House of Commons that the Government would embark on the “biggest public housing programme in the UK for 20 years” as he pledged £3bn more capital over three years from 2015 for the provision of new homes.

Citing today’s report on the extent of UK shale gas reserves, the Chief Secretary also announced tax incentives for shale gas investors and guarantees for nuclear projects.

Labour’s Ed Balls responded to the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement yesterday by saying that investment was needed now, and planning for coming years would be fruitless.

Katja Hall, CBI Chief Policy Director, said: “This is the kind of bold, ambitious package which businesses have wanted for years - but the time for grand announcements is over. Ministers now need to follow through urgently on their promises or they risk the private sector growing even more frustrated.

“It’s clear the Coalition now sees it was wrong to cut capital spending so deeply in 2010. Long-term growth needs long-term investment – investing an extra £15 billion over the next Parliament will go someway to redress the shortfall.

“The energy plans are a big step forward and should unlock the private investment we need to keep the lights on and costs down. The renewables strike price and capacity mechanism means investors will enable investors take their plans off the drawing board and on to building sites. The Energy Bill’s passage has dragged on long enough - the big task now is to get it on the statute book as soon as possible.

“Extending the UK Guarantees Scheme is a no-brainer. Potential investors have been put off by the impending cliff-edge next year. The new guarantees for the Mersey Gateway and Hinkley Point will reassure business that ministers are backing up their promises with real action.

“The rush of road projects will create jobs in the short-term and boost growth in the long-term. We can’t afford ever-rising congestion and the dire quality of some of our roads, if we want to attract inward investment and drive up exports.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .