Theo Clarke MP welcomes key announcements for Stafford in the spending review

• Spending Review commits to billions of pounds to help tackle coronavirus next year, including £18 billion to fund our programmes on community testing, test and trace, PPE and vaccines.
• Increased funding to deliver stronger public services – including in schools, hospitals and our police force.
• £100 billion capital spending including infrastructure to drive UK’s recovery and support jobs – levelling up across the United Kingdom as we build back better from coronavirus.

The Spending Review which provides billions of pounds in the fight against coronavirus, delivers on the Conservative’s promises it has made to the British people and invests in the UK’s recovery.

On Wednesday, the Government set out an ambitious plan that focuses on levelling up across the country, investing in vital infrastructure that will ensure the UK builds back better from coronavirus.

As part of the Government’s commitments to fund the nation’s priorities, the Spending Review confirmed:

1. A further £55 billion to help with our response to coronavirus – including £18 billion for mass testing, Test and Trace, PPE and vaccines, and £3 billion to support NHS recovery.
2. A funding boost for the NHS. Next year, the health budget will grow by £6.6 billion, allowing us to deliver 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments. We are investing in new technologies, building 40 new hospitals, upgrading 70 more and replacing the vast majority of ageing diagnostic equipment.
3. More money for schools, meaning every pupil in the country will see a year-on-year funding increase of at least 2 per cent. We are also funding our commitment to rebuild 500 schools over the next decade and are providing £375 million to deliver the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
4. £400 million to recruit 6,000 new police officers – meaning we are on track to meet our manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers by 2023.
5. More than £24 billion investment in defence – the biggest sustained increase in 30 years – allowing us to provide security not just for our country but around the world.
6. An increase in core spending power for local authorities by an estimated 4.5 per cent, along with over £3 billion of additional coronavirus support and an extra £254 million of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
7. Capital spending of £100 billion next year, meaning vital investment in roads, rail, hospitals, schools, broadband and housing.
8. A new Levelling Up Fund, worth £4 billion in England and £800 million in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to build the infrastructure of everyday life.
9. A new National Infrastructure Strategy, and a new UK infrastructure bank - headquartered in the north of England - to work with the private sector to finance major new investment projects across the UK.
10. Support for every country across the United Kingdom, increasing Scottish Government funding by £2.4 billion, Welsh Government funding by £1.3 billion, and £900 million for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Key Information for the West Midlands

The Spending Review delivers on our promises to support local public services:

• Ensuring every child has the best start in life by boosting per pupil funding. Schools in the West Midlands will receive £4.3 billion in per-pupil funding through the schools block - an average per-pupil increase of 3.1 per cent compared to 20-21.
• Improving health services in the West Midlands. We are building 5 hospitals in the Midlands and continuing to grow medical undergraduate degree places, with an additional 177 places in the West Midlands compared to 2017-18.
• Investing in flood defences. We’re protecting over 3,500 properties in region through the early stages of our £5.2 billion six-year flood defences programme; including in the Severn Valley, Tamworth and Solihull.
• Tackling crime by recruiting more police officers. The West Midlands will benefit from a share of 6,000 new police officers in 2021-22.
• Unlocking new homes in the region. The West Midlands will benefit from more than £60 million across 6 projects as part of the Housing Infrastructure Fund, including £13 million to unlock 400 homes on a significant brownfield site near Stratford-upon-Avon.

This follows our continued support for the West Midlands through coronavirus:

• In total, we have supported 866,400 jobs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• We have supported over 107,000 businesses with over £4.2 billion worth of loans through the Bounce Back Loan
• Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
• We have invested £123.8 million in local infrastructure priorities in the West Midlands through the Getting Building Fund, supporting the West Midland’s short-term recovery from COVID-19.

We are supporting economic priorities and revitalisation of communities and towns:

• Improving transport infrastructure and connectivity as part of our levelling up agenda.
  •  The West Midlands Combined Authority will receive a share of £4.2 billion investment in intra-city transport settlements to deliver transformed local transport networks. This builds upon over £110 million investment in 21-22 in local transport networks in West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent, through the Transforming Cities Fund (with over £350 million total provided to these areas over the length of the programme).
  • The West Midlands will benefit from strategic road upgrades such as the A46 Coventry Junctions and M7 junction 13 to 15 smart motorway scheme.
  • The West Midlands will benefit from the first phase of High Speed 2, decreasing journey times and increasing capacity for journeys between Birmingham and London.
  •  The West Midlands will also benefit from over £100 million funding for local roads maintenance in 2021- 22 and feasibility funding for proposals to reinstate the Stratford upon Avon to Honeybourne/Worcester/Oxford line through the Restoring your Railway New Ideas Fund.
• Investing in culture and sport in the West Midlands, including £118.5 million for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and continued funding from the Cultural Investment Fund for Coventry’s UK City of Culture 2021 programme.
•  Supporting the regeneration of 21 towns in the West Midlands through the Towns Fund.
• Promoting opportunities to secure foreign direct investment. Through the High Potential Opportunities Programme, we are promoting opportunities to secure foreign investment in data driven healthcare and CAV modelling and simulation.
• Benefitting from £36.5 million Gainshare Funding for devolution and city deals including West Midlands MCA.

This is in addition to other announcements that will benefit the region:

• £500 million to be spent in the next four years for the development and mass-scale production of electric vehicle batteries and components, as part of our commitment to provide up to £1 billion, boosting investment into our strong manufacturing bases including in the West Midlands. This will include £100 million in new R&D funding for low carbon automotive innovation, match-funded with industry. The West Midlands has received £181 million in R&D grants through this Advanced Propulsion Centre programme since 2013.
• Our £14.6 billion investment in Research and Development in 2021-22, which will be available to support UK innovators and researchers across the UK, including those in the West Midlands, pursuing ground-breaking ideas and developing new technologies.