Political Insider – Friday 13th March 2020
The UK Government is expected to announce that it is stepping up its response to the coronavirus at any point but it anxious to keep as much ‘business as usual’ as possible. One UK Heath Minister (Nadine Dorries MP) has already been diagnosed as positive. It is anticipated the UK will switch to tactics aimed at delaying its spread, rather than containing it. It comes after the World Health Organization labelled the outbreak of the disease as a pandemic on Wednesday.
At Perceptive, we’re being proactive in protecting the business and our staff. We’re making the most of our already established flexible working and remote working capabilities and where possible the Perceptive team will be working from home for the next two weeks. It will still be business as usual however and if you or your organisation need any advice or support on how to handle any part of your daily business impacted by the outbreak, please do speak to us if we can help at all.
On Wednesday, new Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP unveiled a £30bn package to boost the economy and get the country through the coronavirus outbreak. He is suspending business rates for many firms, extending sick pay and boosting NHS funding. In his first Budget speech, he warned of a "significant" but temporary disruption to the UK economy but vowed: "we will get through this together."
Separately Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes MSP has called for "urgent clarification" on the consequences for Scotland of the £30bn coronavirus budget package. Ms Forbes said it was not clear what the announcement meant for spending in Scotland. The Chancellor said the overall Budget would result in £640m additional funding for the Scottish Government.
Record–breaking levels of road and rail investment as well as funding for housing, broadband and energy infrastructure were among the headline–grabbing leads in the Budget. In an assured performance he gave no hint of only being weeks into the second biggest job in British government, delivering one of the trickiest budgets in decades.
£640 billion of gross capital investment will be provided for roads, railways, communications, schools, hospitals and power networks between now and 2025. Other notable figures included a £10.9 billion increase in affordable housing investment a doubling of spending on flood relief infrastructure to £5.2 billion in the coming year and £1 billion for greener transport, including investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to ensure that drivers are never more than 30 miles from a rapid charging station.
The Chancellor also pledged to more than double spending on UK government research and development (R&D) by 2024. Mr Sunak promised an increase of 15% for next year with further increases in successive years. The pledge means that the government may exceed its target of boosting the proportion of private and public R&D spend from 1.7% to 2.4% by 2027. The chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, welcomed the announcement. "This significant increase in funding for research and development represents an overwhelming endorsement of our world-leading science base," he said. "It puts the UK in an excellent position to lead the field in science and successfully meet the challenges of the future."
And finally… We organised a successful visit to client Scotframe in Dundee this week by Scottish Conservative shadow business and taxation Minister, Bill Bowman MSP. Mr Bowman was interested in Scotframe's unique business model and is especially interested in the company's plans to develop commercial links in England - hopefully with the new Housing Minister at the helm!
If you or your organisation would benefit from our political insight and specialist knowledge and contacts at all political levels, please get in touch with Julie Moulsdale on 07734 932578 or julie.moulsdale@perceptivecommunicators.co.uk
