On Wednesday 25th November, following much speculation the Chancellor unveiled to Parliament and to the country, a progressive and confident Spending Review for the next five years.
As the commentators mull over the details and crunch the numbers, it is my priority to know what the announcements will mean for my constituency of Bury St Edmunds.
With growth forecast for the coming years, this will start to benefit the local area. With £12 billion invested into the Local Growth Fund, East Anglia welcomes ten new or extended Enterprise Zones, including a new zone in Bury St Edmunds and an extension to the zone in Stowmarket. This announcement will deliver up to 15,000 local jobs and enhance local enterprise and infrastructure. Furthermore it will attract global business investors to the very best Suffolk has to offer and ensure it, along with the region, remains firmly on the map.
Having already alleviated the deficit by a third, the Government has continued to protect our future generations by announcing plans for long term investment in our young people. Having campaigned for fairer schools funding, I was delighted to see that the worst funded areas, including Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk, will receive additional support, now directly proportionate to the needs of pupils. This will look to remove the shortfall of £260 per pupil which saw Suffolk schools in the bottom 25% of school funding areas.
Only last week, I called on the Government to maintain further education spending for 16-19 year olds and to ensure that colleges become more efficient and self-governing over the medium term and beyond. Using the example of our West Suffolk College, I highlighted the need for assistance in this round of spending, to deliver the Government’s ambitious plans for the future and unleash the potential of colleges and sixth forms across the UK. This will guarantee we deliver the apprentices and skilled workforce that our growing local and national economies need.
Yet to deliver these promises, which will protect and grow the Eastern region, I would argue that our core infrastructure must also be up to scratch. I welcome the 50% increase in capital spending for the Department of Transport- “the biggest increase in a generation.” I put it to the Government, that to make their investments really count we must also deliver better road and rail services to Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk. I am therefore encouraged by the prospects for my Bury St Edmunds constituency, which can challenge and deliver the plans of a progressive government.