Top Announcements - Government Update

The Prime Minister has announced a New Deal for Britain, an ambitious economic strategy to rebuild Britain, putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of our economic recovery post-coronavirus, and delivering on our manifesto pledges to level up the entire country.

• We will use the coronavirus pandemic to tackle this country’s great unresolved challenges of the last three decades which successive governments have ducked: to build the homes, to fix the NHS, to tackle the skills crisis, to mend the indefensible gap in opportunity and productivity and connectivity between the regions of the UK, and to unite and level up.
   
• Too many parts of this country have felt left behind, neglected, unloved, as though someone had taken a strategic decision that their fate did not matter as much as the metropolis. Not only has a vision to change this country for the better, we have a mission to unite and level up – the mission on which we were elected last year. The Chancellor will provide an update on the economy next week.
   
• Over the next five years, we will invest more than £600 billion pounds in our future prosperity, and yesterday’s announcement brings forward £5 billion of capital investment projects, supporting jobs and the economic recovery across the country.
   
• This includes £1.5 billion this year for hospital maintenance, £100 million this year for 29 projects in our road network to get Britain moving, £1 billion to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21, over £280 million to support and modernise our criminal justice system, and a new £900 million for a range of ‘shovel ready’ local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next .
   
• If we deliver this plan together, then we will together build our way back to health. We will not just bounce back, we will bounce forward – stronger and better and more united than ever before.

• We have today published a ‘Research and Development Roadmap’, which puts pursuing ground-breaking research, attracting global talent, and cutting unnecessary red tape at the forefront of our long-term plan to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to live, work and innovate.

  Coronavirus has shown us the creativity and innovative thinking of our world-leading institutions, scientists and researchers to tackle this disease and save people’s lives. We want to harness this expertise to rejuvenate science and research across the UK.   The ‘Research and Development Roadmap’ will bring forward £300 million to upgrade scientific infrastructure across the UK, so that researchers have better lab equipment and resources. It will also support our efforts to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, help to develop new medicines, and improve life at home by strengthening national security and improving public services.   The Roadmap will help us achieve our ambitions by unleashing the potential of science and research to embrace diversity, resilience and adaptability while tackling our biggest challenges such as achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

  Government action to tackle the coronavirus pandemic:

  We are protecting the NHS so that it is there for people when they need it…

  From just 2,000 tests per day in March we now have the capacity to conduct over 280,000 tests per day – with 133,467 tests on 29 June. Our testing rate is now among the best in the world, equivalent to one test for every ten people in the country – and is outpacing countries like Germany, Spain, Italy, and the USA. Daily cases down from a peak of 5,195 on 14 April to 867 on 29 June 2020 (seven day rolling average) Daily deaths down from a peak of 945 on 14 April to 115 on 29 June 2020 (seven day rolling average) Ventilators up from 9,000 in March 2020 to 24,000 on 29 June 2020. Number of ventilator beds occupied down from a peak of 3,301 on 12 April 2020 to 268 on 26 June 2020. Over 2 billion items of PPE delivered since the start of the outbreak. 6 Nightingale hospitals created with a 7th due to open in Exeter. Hospital admissions down from 3,432 on 1 April 2020 to 478 on 16 June 2020 (England, Wales and NI). Over 1.8 million testing kits delivered to almost 9000 care homes.   99 per cent of GPs able to offer video consultations – up from 3 per cent before the crisis.

  We are taking unprecedented action to support jobs and livelihoods across the UK with over £124 billion of support…

  Jobs retention scheme has been used by over 1.1 million employers to protect 9.3 million people’s jobs at a value of £25.5 billion Self-employed income support scheme has been used by over 2.6 million to the value of £7.7 billion. The safety net is working – with an extra 2.3 million people getting the help they need through Universal Credit (since 12 March) 52,275 loans have now gone out through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for SMEs providing over £11 billion worth of finance. 359 loans have been approved for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme for large firms providing £2.3 billion worth of financing. Over 967,000 Bounce Back Loans have been approved worth over £29.5 billion. Over 861,000 firms have benefitted from £10.57 billion of business grants through the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund. Almost £10 billion of business rates relief has been provided for firms affected by COVID-19 – taken with existing measures around 1.1 million properties will pay no business rates in 2020-21.  Over 496,000 VAT payments deferred by businesses to the value of £27.5 billion.

  We are supporting those who need it most…

  Around 1,160,000 children are attending an educational setting – including 405,000 children of critical workers. £164 million worth of free school meal vouchers have been redeemed. Over 3.6 million food boxes have been distributed to those who are shielded. 15,000 people have been housed in emergency accommodation.   Almost 590,000 NHS Volunteer Responders have had their ID verified and can now receive tasks. More than 394,000 tasks have been completed by NHS Volunteers. Helped to repatriate 38,000 people by charter and 1.3 million via commercial routes. Contributed £1.65 billion to GAVI, the vaccine alliance. 2 of the world’s leading coronavirus vaccine programmes. The first in world to have a successful clinical trial. Contributed £764 million the international effort to fight coronavirus.

  And we are continuing to deliver on our commitments and the British peoples’ priorities…

  12,000 more nurses and 6,000 more doctors than a year ago . 3,000 more police officers recruited as part of our target for 20,000. £1 billion to rebuild schools in England on top of £14.4 billion over three years to boost funding for schools.