During this year’s March Budget Statement, I was pleased to hear The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP, highlight the Government’s plan to level-up the country, build back greener and invest in sectors across the economy. I am confident my Ministerial colleagues understand the challenges we face up and down the land, as well as the need to seize opportunities, and take the steps to ensure we don’t simply recover from the pandemic in the years ahead, but rather we move forward and thrive.
Investing in Green Growth
Throughout the pandemic, I have been corresponding with constituents about how we can protect our environment, introduce green initiatives and take real, material steps towards delivering the ‘Green Revolution’ my colleagues in the Government have so often spoken about. This Budget delivers on those promises, with real commitments to building back greener and investing in green, economic growth.
Firstly, the Chancellor confirmed we are creating the first ever “UK Infrastructure Bank”, which will be based in Leeds, highlighting our commitment to encouraging regional economic growth far beyond London. In his statement, he explained how this bank would function and its primary purposes:
“The bank will invest across the UK in public and private projects to finance the green industrial revolution. Beginning this spring, it will have an initial capitalisation of £12 billion and we expect it to support at least £40 billion of total investment in infrastructure.”
More on how we are levelling-up across the country later. But in terms of further steps announced in this week’s Budget regarding ‘Green Growth’, the Government are taking the following steps:
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£20 million to fund a UK-wide competition to develop floating offshore wind demonstrators and help support the government’s aim to generate enough electricity from offshore wind to power every home by 2030.
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£4 million for a biomass feedstocks programme in the UK to identify ways to increase the production of green energy crops and forest products that can be used for energy.
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Plans for at least £15 billion of green gilt issuance in the coming financial year, to help finance critical projects to tackle climate change and other environmental challenges, fund important infrastructure investment, and create green jobs across the UK.
This is great news for Sussex, where we have led the way in offshore wind, with the second largest wind farm in the UK, Rampion, being based in West Sussex. Furthermore, Hydrogen Sussex, who have recently launched, are bringing together key players across the public and private sectors to promote hydrogen technology, in order to help local councils reach Net Zero by 2050. I am sure they will be welcoming the news the Government will be investing “£68 million to fund a UK-wide competition to deliver first-of-a-kind long-duration energy storage prototypes that will reduce the cost of net zero by storing excess low carbon energy over longer periods.”
This Government are committed to leading the world in fighting climate change, whether it’s hosting G7 and COP26, our unprecedented Environment Bill, or the measures announced this week – I am proud to see this Government take the lead in laying a path towards a ‘Green Economy’, creating ‘green’ jobs and business opportunities across the UK.
Levelling-Up across the UK
Levelling-up across the country is a high priority of this Conservative Government. We want to create a fairer society, which is only possible through economic growth across all regions of the UK. The Chancellor announced the publication of the prospectus for the £4.8 billion UK-wide Levelling Up Fund, providing guidance for local areas on how to submit bids for the first round of funding, starting in 21-22.
In addition to this, the Government will be funding £1 billion for 45 ‘new town’ deals, supporting their long-term economic and social regeneration, as well as their immediate recovery from the impact of COVID-19. This will be, in the Chancellor’s own words: “from Castleford to Clay Cross, Rochdale to Rowley Regis, and Whitby to Wolverhampton”. This Government are committed to investing in all areas of the UK, stimulating growth and regional, economic prosperity.
Significantly, the Chancellor announced eight new ‘English Freeports’, building on our promise to take advantage of our withdrawal from the EU and the freedoms this gives us on the global stage. These freeports will be secure customs zones, located in urban areas where business can be carried out inside our country’s land border, but where different custom rules apply. This significantly reduces administration burdens and tariff controls, whilst providing relief from duties and import taxes. This will be a huge boost to the selected locations, which cover all four corners of England. Thanks to Brexit, how we trade is evolving and expanding, so it was really exciting to hear we will have these 8 new freeports in: East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent, Thames and Teesside.
I look forward to seeing the impact these freeports have in the above areas in the years and decades to come.
Levelling-Up businesses
The Chancellor outlined how he wants to make the UK is the best place in the world for high growth, innovative companies and we will be supporting businesses as they look to expand and adapt to the Digital Age:
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The £375 million UK-wide ‘Future Fund: Breakthrough’ will invest in highly innovative companies, including those working in life sciences, quantum computing, or clean tech, which are aiming to raise at least £20 million of funding.
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A new Help to Grow scheme will offer up to 130,000 companies across the UK a digital and management boost. Mid Sussex has numerous, fantastic small-to-medium sized companies who could benefit from this exciting new scheme.
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For example, in East Grinsted, we have a number of digital communication companies which have battled their way through this pandemic and are still standing strong. This is an exciting opportunity for them to access high-end software, training and support, in order to develop their business and take advantage of the ‘innovation revolution’.
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Beginning in April 2021, the new super-deduction will cut companies’ tax bill by 25p for every pound they invest in new equipment. This is worth around £25 billion to UK companies over the two-year period the super-deduction will be in full effect.
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We are also launching a review of Research & Development tax reliefs, to make sure the UK remains a competitive location for cutting-edge research.
Immigration
The Budget also outlines the changes this Government are making to our immigration system, which will help ambitious UK businesses attract the brightest and best international talent. As the Chancellor stated:
“My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary knows that a scientific superpower needs scientific superstars, so together we are announcing ambitious visa reforms aimed at highly skilled migrants, including a new, unsponsored points-based visa to attract the best and most promising international talent in science, research and tech; new, improved visa processes for scale-ups and entrepreneurs, and radically simplified bureaucracy for high skilled visa applications.”
This is one of the key benefits of Brexit: taking control of borders and immigration laws. Now, we have the opportunity to implement a points-based immigration system, building on the promises we made in our 2019 manifesto.
Culture
Finally, we will be investing in the future of our cultural, arts and sports sectors, which have all been hit hard over the last year:
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£28 million to fund the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, delivering a major celebration for the UK.
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£2.8 million for Britain and Ireland’s bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
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£150 million Community Ownership Fund will allow communities across the UK to invest to protect the assets that matter most to them such as pubs, theatres, shops, or local sports clubs.
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£18.8 million to transform local cultural projects in Hartlepool, Carlisle, Wakefield and Yeovil.
This is a time to meet challenges, while stimulating change and growth, and I firmly believe this is clearly laid out in the Chancellor’s Financial Statement on the Budget, which builds on our promises to level-up the country and lead the world through investment in the ‘Green Economy’.
For further information on the Budget, please visit:
