Autumn Statement Industry Highlights

Autumn Statement Industry Highlights

 

On 23 November, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced the Government’s 2016 Autumn Statement, pledging £23 billion of additional spending via the new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF).

Among the sectors receiving fresh investment are infrastructure, housing, transport, exports, defence and security, R&D, oil and gas, communications, culture and media.

Read on to discover what public sector pipelines of work await your industry sector.

 

Infrastructure

  • National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) to provide £23 billion of additional spending, ensuring the UK’s economy is fit for the future.
  • National Productivity Investment Fund will provide major additional spending in areas that are key to boosting productivity: transport, digital communications, research and development (R&D), and housing.
  • An increase of over £800 million to the Scottish Government for infrastructure projects.
  • An increase of over £400 million to the Welsh Government for infrastructure projects.
  • An increase of over £250 million to the Northern Ireland Executive for infrastructure projects.

 

Housing

  • £2.3 billion for a new Housing Infrastructure Fund for projects such as roads and water connections that will support the construction of up to 100,000 new homes in the areas where they are needed most.
  • £1.4 billion to provide 40,000 new affordable homes, including some for shared ownership and some for affordable rent.
  • £1.7 billion to speed up the construction of new homes on public sector land.

 

Transport

As part of the National Productivity Investment Fund, transport infrastructure will include:

  • £1.1 billion to reduce congestion and upgrade local roads and public transport
  • £220 million to tackle road safety and congestion on Highways England roads
  • £27 million to develop an expressway connecting Oxford and Cambridge
  • £450 million will also be spent on trialling railway digital signalling technology which will expand capacity and improve reliability

£390 million investment in future transport technology including driverless cars, renewable fuels and energy efficient transport. This will include:

  • £100 million investment in testing infrastructure for driverless cars
  • £150 million to provide at least 550 new electric and hydrogen buses and to support taxis to become zero emission
  • £80 million to install more charge-points for ultra-low emission vehicles
  • A two-year 100% first year allowance for companies who install electric charge-points, coming into effect immediately‎. This allows companies to deduct the cost of the charge-point from their pre-tax profits in that year

 

Exports

  • Doubling UK Export Finance capacity.

 

Defence & Security

  • Protecting the defence budget (no reduction in Budget 2016 pledge).
  • Protecting the overseas aid budget (no reduction in Budget 2016 pledge).
  • Over £102 million of LIBOR banking fines to support Armed Forces and Emergency Services charities and other related good causes: over the next 4 years support will go to more than 100 projects supporting Armed Forces personnel, their families and veterans; Emergency Service personnel; children’s hospitals, air ambulances and emergency responders; and museums and memorials.

 

Research & Development

  • £2 billion more per year in research and development (R&D) funding by 2020-21.
  • Increase in R&D funding for universities and businesses with R&D for areas like robotics, artificial intelligence and industrial biotechnology.

 

Oil & Gas

  • Carbon Price Support capped until 2020.
  • Business rates reduction package worth £6.7 billion.

 

Communications

  • £1 billion to invest in full-fibre broadband and trialling 5G networks.
  • Investment to support the private sector to roll out more full-fibre broadband by 2020-21.
  • Funding will also support trials of 5G mobile communications.
  • From April 2017, the Government will also provide a new 100% business rates relief for new full-fibre infrastructure for a 5-year period.

 

Culture

  • Over £10 million to support culture and heritage projects across the UK:
  • £7.6 million will cover urgent and essential repairs to Wentworth Woodhouse heritage house in South Yorkshire
  • £850,000 for a Royal Society of the Arts pilot to promote cultural education in schools
  • £1.6 million to help complete Studio 144, an arts complex in Southampton, including an auditorium, studio, and gallery
  • £1 million towards the development of a new creative media centre in Plymouth
  • New museums and galleries tax relief will be expanded to include permanent exhibitions, set at 20% for non-touring exhibitions and 25% for touring exhibitions. The relief will be capped at £500,000 of qualifying expenditure per exhibition.

 

For more information on government spending plans, keep reading the BiP Solutions blog.

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