Chancellor is right to recognise the need to commit to critical infrastructure to drive growth

The Chancellor has set out her plans for growth including streamlining regulation, speeding up planning, freeing up investment, and expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick.

There were also plans  for a new Oxford to Cambridge link and for further investment in clean energy.

Prospect welcomes the recognition by the Chancellor that there is not a trade off between growth and reaching net zero, and we will be working with government to help achieve this across all our sectors.

Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, responded: 

“For too long the UK has failed to fully commit to the critical infrastructure it needs – it is right the Chancellor recognises this must change.

“The UK is already losing out with passengers choosing to connect in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris due to lack of runway capacity in South East England, with knock-on effects on jobs and skills.

“Workforce resilience in aviation is already very low, and it is vital that extra capacity is used to increase resilience in the sector, and put in place a proper strategy for skills and airspace management.

“It is also vital that the government takes steps to accelerate progress on the decarbonisation of aviation, including putting real resource behind the Jet Zero strategy, and ensuring that additional air traffic is compatible with the UK’s plan to reach net zero.”

On Sizewell C: 

“New nuclear is critical to a high growth future for the UK providing proven, always on, low carbon power.

“Sizewell C is the most important single infrastructure project sat on ministers’ desk and urgently needs to receive the green light and final investment decision.”