• 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.

Rebecca Harris MP has welcomed 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 million 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 investing in new technologies, building 40 new hospitals, upgrading 70 more and replacing the vast majority of ageing diagnostic equipment. In the East of England, the Government are building 6 new hospitals and continuing to grow medical undergraduate degree places, with an additional 162 places in the East of England compared to 2017-18.
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. Schools in the East of England will receive £4 billion in per-pupil funding through the schools block - an average per-pupil increase of 3.2 per cent compared to 20-21.
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. The East of England will benefit from a share of 6,000 new police officers in 2021-22
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. The East of England will benefit from nearly £800 million in funding across 15 projects, as part of the Housing Infrastructure Fund. The East of England will also benefit from over £130 million funding for local roads maintenance in 21-22, as well as local road upgrades
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.

Commenting, Rebecca Harris MP said:

“While the health emergency facing our country is not yet over, the economic emergency has only just begun.

“The Chancellor’s Spending Review tackles this unprecedented situation head on – ensuring lives and livelihoods in Castle Point are protected and supported in the weeks and months ahead.

“At the same time, I was elected at last year’s General Election on a commitment to level up communities like ours, and I am thrilled that this Conservative Government is now making good on that promise – by delivering a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure that will create jobs, grow the economy and increase pride in the place we call home.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP said:

“Today’s Spending Review delivers the priorities of the British people. Our health emergency is not yet over, and the economic emergency has only just begun; so our immediate priority is to protect people’s lives and livelihoods.

“But today’s Spending Review also delivers stronger public services - paying for new hospitals, better schools and safer streets. And it delivers a once-in-a-generation transformation in our approach to infrastructure. Creating jobs, growing the economy, and increasing pride in the places people call home.”

The Spending Review commitments are in addition to other announcements of the Government’s continued support for the East of England through coronavirus, such as:

• In total, we have supported 879,600 million jobs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• Over 127,000 businesses have been supported through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme and the Bounce Back Loans Scheme with loans worth over £5.0 billion.
• We have invested £ 63.5 million in local infrastructure priorities in the East of England through the Getting Building Fund, supporting the East of England’s short-term recovery from COVID-19.
• £160 million in funding for modern ports and manufacturing infrastructure. This investment would allow the region to take advantage of the green industrial revolution and become a core part of the renewable energy industry.
• 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 East of England, pursuing ground-breaking ideas and developing new technologies.