LEP’s Response to Spring Budget

There were some positive announcements for Greater Lincolnshire in today’s Spring Budget speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.

Overall the Spring Budget focuses on measures to get people into work and to support enterprise and investment. A shortage of workers and a lack of investment are the two main factors holding back the UK economy.

The Government is committed to attracting investment to achieve a high-wage, high-skill economy, and its plan is to address these challenges and build on the UK’s areas of strength.

The Spring Budget prioritises what Mr Hunt called the four Es: Enterprise, Employment, Education and Everywhere. 

Employment: boosting labour supply, including by encouraging the inactive into work
Education: providing everyone with the skills and support they need
Enterprise: providing the right conditions for businesses to succeed
Everywhere: ensuring the benefits of economic growth are felt across the UK

The Government intends to help the long-term sick and disabled into work with more support, such as embedded tailored support within mental health and musculoskeletal health services in England. Around 30% of economically inactive people in Greater Lincolnshire - 45,000 people - are out of work due to long-term illnesses.

The Spring Budget also contains measures to extend people’s working lives. Nationally the number of inactive 50 to 64-year-olds has increased by 320,000 since before the pandemic, and inactivity among older workers is higher than that of the best performing economies in the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).

Parents, and particularly mothers, are also being encouraged to return to work more quickly with increased funding to pay for more free childcare.

The Chancellor committed to further discussions on devolving power and money to the regions. The consultation work carried out by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP last year showed that the majority of our business community supports the principle of devolution.

There was an announcement that new Levelling Up Partnerships worth over £400m will support regeneration in 20 of England’s areas most in need of levelling up between now and 2025. Boston is one of the towns named on the list of beneficiaries. This is very positive news for the borough of Boston and we look forward to seeing the results of this investment.

Also in line for some extra funding is North East Lincolnshire, where the Freshney Place Market Hall and Leisure project will receive £20 million. It is one of 16 high-quality regeneration projects which will receive a total of £200 million from the Government this year.

Coming on top of the successful Levelling Up Fund bid for Cleethorpes Town Centre announced last month, this funding will help shape the future of Grimsby town centre in a very positive way.

We also welcome the Government’s announcement that it will provide an extra £200m nationally for road improvements and fixing potholes, a portion of which will be earmarked for Lincolnshire.