The Prime Minister this morning set out our ‘New Deal’, an ambitious economic strategy to rebuild Britain across the UK, putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of our economic recovery post-coronavirus, and delivering on our manifesto pledges to level up the entire country.
We will use the coronavirus pandemic to tackle this country’s great unresolved challenges of the last three decades which successive governments have ducked: to build the homes, to fix the NHS, to tackle the skills crisis, to mend the indefensible gap in opportunity and productivity and connectivity between the regions of the UK, and to unite and level up.
Too many parts of this country have felt left behind, neglected, unloved, as though someone had taken a strategic decision that their fate did not matter as much as the metropolis. Not only has a vision to change this country for the better, we have a mission to unite and level up – the mission on which we were elected last year. The Chancellor will provide an update on the economy next week.
If we deliver this plan together, then we will together build our way back to health. We will not just bounce back, we will bounce forward – stronger and better and more united than ever before.
SUPPORTING JOBS AND OUR ECONOMY
Recognising the crisis has driven job losses across the country, and many people are worried about their jobs and incomes, we have set our action to support jobs and skills.
Over the next five years, we will invest more than £600 billion pounds in our future prosperity, and today’s announcement brings forward £5 billion of capital investment projects, supporting jobs and the economic recovery across the country.
- An Opportunity Guarantee for young people, so that they can be assured they will have access to work or training. It is vital that we stop the economic impact of coronavirus from scarring the lives of the next generation irreparably. The Chancellor will set out further details on the scheme next week.
- New £1.5 billion this year for hospital maintenance, modernising the mental health estate, accelerating new hospital building projects, and expanding A&E capacity. This will improve patient care, make sure NHS hospitals can deliver world-leading services and reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.
- New £100 million 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 £10 million for development work to unblock the Manchester rail bottleneck, which will begin this year.
- New over £1 billion 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.
- Accelerating of existing programmes to repair and upgrade schools and FE colleges. This will be worth £560 million and £200 million respectively this year.
- Over £280 million to support and modernise our criminal justice system creating jobs; New £142 million for digital upgrades and maintenance to around 100 courts this year, £83 million for maintenance of prisons and youth offender facilities, and £60 million for temporary prison places, creating thousands of new jobs.
- New £900 million for a range of ‘shovel ready’ local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next, as well as £96 million 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 £500,000 – £1 million to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets, and transport.
DELIVERING THE HOMES PEOPLE NEED
We have announced the most radical reforms to our planning system since the Second World War, making it easier to build better homes where people want to live.
New regulations will give greater freedom for buildings and land in our town centres to change use without planning permission and create new homes from the regeneration of vacant and redundant buildings.
- Kick-starting the construction industry and speed up rebuilding. New rules will mean existing commercial properties, including newly vacant shops, can be converted into residential housing more easily.
- Work will begin to look at how land owned by the government can be managed more effectively through a new ambitious cross-government strategy to look at how public sector land can be put to better use including new homes, contributing to net zero goals and injecting growth opportunities into communities across the country.
- Confirming a £12 billion affordable homes programme that will support up to 180,000 new affordable homes for ownership and rent over the next 8 years.
- A pilot of 1,500-unit ‘First Homes’ that will be sold to local first time buyers at a 30 per cent discount. These will remain in perpetuity, keeping them affordable for generations of families to own.
- Allocating funds from the £400 million Brownfield Land Fund. Today we have confirmed the allocation of funds to the West Midland, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, North of Tyne and Tees Valley to support around 24,000 homes.
- Expanding the Home Builders Fund to help smaller developers access finance for new housing. Developments will receive additional £450 million boost. This is expected to support delivery of around 7,200 new homes.
- Launching a planning Policy Paper in July setting out our plan for comprehensive reform of England’s seven-decade old planning system to introduce a new approach that works better for our modern economy and society.
- Bringing forward a Local Recovery White Paper later this year to support our recovery. We will detail how the UK government will work with communities across the county to build a sustainable economic recovery.
INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE PROSPERITY
Today’s announcement redoubles government’s efforts to get on with this now, in support of economic recovery and jobs right across the country.
- Publishing our National Infrastructure Strategy in the Autumn which will set a clear direction on core economic infrastructure, including energy networks, road and rail, flood defences and waste.
- Bringing forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We will work with the devolved administrations to identify where we can get spades in the ground, build our communities, and create jobs faster for citizens across the United Kingdom. We will carry out a review to look at how best to improve road, rail, air and sea links between our four nations to create a more connected kingdom.
- Protecting the UK’s natural infrastructure. We will reforest Britain by planting over 75,000 acres of trees every year by 2025, pledge £40 million to boost local conservation projects and create 3,000 jobs, including new Conservation Rangers, and safeguard a further 2,000. This will safeguard the UK’s natural carbon stores and wildlife habitats – our meadows, rivers, and local green spaces – which are central to capturing and removing CO2 from the atmosphere, protecting precious biodiversity, and connecting people with nature.
THIS ALL COMES ON TOP OF THE UNPRECEDENTED ACTION THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY TAKEN
We are protecting the NHS so that it is there for people when they need it…
- From just 2,000 tests per day in March we now have the capacity to conduct over 280,000 tests per day – with 93,881 tests on 28 June.
- Our testing rate is now among the best in the world, equivalent to one test for every ten people in the country – and is outpacing countries like Germany, Spain, Italy, and the USA.
- Daily cases down from a peak of 5,195 on 14 April to 984 on 28 June 2020 (seven day rolling average)
- Daily deaths down from a peak of 945 on 14 April to 117 on 25 June 2020 (seven day rolling average)
- Ventilators up from 9,000 in March 2020 to 24,000 on 29 June 2020.
- Number of ventilator beds occupied down from a peak of 3,301 on 12 April 2020 to 276 on 25 June 2020.
- Over 2 billion items of PPE delivered since the start of the outbreak.
- 6 Nightingale hospitals created with a 7th due to open in Exeter.
- Hospital admissions down from 3,432 on 1 April 2020 to 319 on 23 June 2020 (England, Wales and NI).
- Over 1.8 million testing kits delivered to almost 9000 care homes.
- 99 per cent of GPs able to offer video consultations – up from 3 per cent before the crisis.
We are taking unprecedented action to support jobs and livelihoods across the UK with over £124 billion of support…
- Jobs retention scheme has been used by over 1.1 million employers to protect 9.3 million people’s jobs at a value of £25.5 billion
- Self-employed income support scheme has been used by over 2.6 million to the value of £7.7 billion.
- The safety net is working – with an extra 2.3 million people getting the help they need through Universal Credit (since 12 March)
- Over 52,275 loans have now gone out through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for SMEs providing £11 billion worth of finance.
- 359 loans have been approved for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme for large firms providing £2.3 billion worth of financing.
- Over 967,000 Bounce Back Loans have been approved worth over £29.5 billion.
- Over 861,000 firms have benefitted from over £10.57 billion of business grants through the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.
- Almost £10 billion of business rates relief has been provided for firms affected by COVID-19 – taken with existing measures around 1.1 million properties will pay no business rates in 2020-21.
- Over 496,000 VAT payments deferred by businesses to the value of £27.5 billion.
We are supporting those who need it most…
- Around 1,160,000 children are attending an educational setting – including 405,000 children of critical workers [estimated as 13 per cent of all children of critical workers].
- £164 million worth of free school meal vouchers have been redeemed.
- Over 3.6 million food boxes have been distributed to those who are shielded.
- 15,000 people have been housed in emergency accommodation.
- Almost 590,000 NHS Volunteer Responders have had their ID verified and can now receive tasks.
- More than 394,000 tasks have been completed by NHS Volunteers.
- Helped to repatriate 38,000 people by charter and 1.3 million via commercial routes.
- Contributed £1.65 billion to GAVI, the vaccine alliance.
- 2 of the world’s leading coronavirus vaccine programmes.
- The first in world to have a successful clinical trial.
- Contributed £764 million the international effort to fight coronavirus.
And we are continuing to deliver on our commitments and the British peoples’ priorities…
- 12,000 more nurses and 6,000 more doctors than a year ago
- 3,000 more police officers recruited as part of our target for 20,000
- £1 billion to rebuild schools in England on top of £14.4 billion over three years to boost funding for schools.
