Government pledges £9 billion-a-year towards tackling crumbling schools, hospitals and prisons
The Government has pledged at least £9 billion-a-year towards tackling the “soaring maintenance backlog” and fixing crumbling schools, hospitals and prisons its been revealed.
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Forming part of Labour's infrastructure strategy totalling £725 billion, a minister has confirmed the investment spend will be staggered over the next decade.
Treasury minister Darren Jones has said the spending would include the schools rebuilding programme, and the scheme to expand prisons.
He said the 10-year infrastructure plan aimed to show that “change is possible”.
£6 billion of this £9-million-a-year budget would be spent on hospitals, £3 billion on schools and colleges, and £600 million on prisons and courts, he confirmed on Wednesday.
He said: “It is our hope that this long-term approach will give investors and businesses the confidence to invest in skills and their workforce, to hire more apprentices, to create more jobs and to improve wages in every part of the country.”
The Treasury minister said the Government hopes the national infrastructure plan will lead to a “decade of national renewal”.
"Done properly it will result in tangible improvements to the fabric of our country, our local roads and high streets renewed so communities are even better places to live.
"Our public transport more available and more reliable, making it easier for people to get around and access opportunities.
“Our schools and hospitals and GP surgeries fit for the future to deliver for generations to come, and a country that will be stronger and more resilient.
“Communities will see the difference, as this Labour Government delivers on the promise of change and a decade of national renewal.”
Mr Jones also announced a “new online infrastructure pipeline”, which will “provide up to date information about what we will build, when we will build it, and where we will build it, giving industry and investors the confidence they need to invest in highly-skilled jobs in every part of the country”.
It comes as Transport secretary Heidi Alexander pledged to “sort out” the “appalling mess” of HS2 and confirmed the railway’s opening will be further delayed.
The government said on Tuesday that the high speed rail link will not be ready for 2033, following a “litany of failure” that has driven up costs by £37bn.
Since being conceived in the late 2000s, High Speed Two has been beset by numerous setbacks, scalebacks, and has gone over budget multiple times.