Treasury Minister today embarked on a nationwide
tour to give British businesses and local people the opportunity to
have their say on the UK’s infrastructure needs.
On the tour, the Minister will ask leaders for their views on the
kinds of infrastructure needed at a local level, and call for
final responses to the Treasury’s consultation on financing
infrastructure.
The tour will feed into the UK’s first-of-a-kind national
infrastructure strategy – announced by Chancellor at last year’s Budget –
which will be published alongside this year’s Spending Review.
The Strategy will provide a response to the National
Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment,
and set out the government’s long-term plan for economic
infrastructure.
The Minister’s first stop is Ørsted’s Gunfleet Sands Offshore
Windfarm in Essex, to see how the UK’s offshore wind revolution
is leading the way and creating jobs.
He will hear how the Government’s Industrial Strategy and
Offshore Wind Sector Deal are supporting the sector, and how
infrastructure investment could help build on this success.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, , said:
We are investing record amounts in our infrastructure.
But as we build on this impressive record, it is important to
let people across the country have their say. Together we can
ensure our infrastructure is fit for the future and serves
people’s needs.
Every region in the UK has a key role to play in boosting
productivity and prosperity, therefore I am looking forward to
hearing from businesses of all sizes and local communities as
part of this tour.
This follows the Minister’s UK-wide tour of business innovation
in 2018, which lifted the lid on efforts to tackle the
productivity gap and how infrastructure could help play its part.
- the National Infrastructure Commission was established in
January 2017 as an executive agency to help plan, prioritise and
ensure efficient investment in infrastructure
- the government is consulting on how best to support private
investment in infrastructure, so that as we leave the EU, good
infrastructure projects continue to be able to access the finance
they need. The consultation closes on 5 June
- the Infrastructure Finance Review will inform both the 2019
Spending Review and the upcoming National Infrastructure Strategy
