Philip Hammond drawing up £5billion plan for Autumn Statement to ‘fire up’ economy for Brexit
The Chancellor will focus on increasing productivity and improving infrastructure by easing traffic jams and rail delays
PHILIP Hammond is drawing up a £5billion plan to get Britain in shape for leaving the EU.
The Chancellor will unveil a package of measures to ease traffic jams, improve railways, build more homes and support our armed forces.
In his first autumn statement this week, he will give £20million from banking fines to fund a world-class treatment centre for wounded soldiers.
It will help equip a unit for 200 patients with severe battlefield injuries at Stanford Hall, a former country pile in Nottinghamshire.
Mr Hammond will also earmark £1.3billion to improve and widen main road networks to get Britain moving faster.
Sources say he aims to “fire up” the nation’s infrastructure to create a stable economic platform ahead of Brexit.
A huge chunk will go on building new roads and tackling pinch points to ease congestion on existing highways.
But he will also target another set of “jams” – families who “Just About Manage” to make ends meet.
The Chancellor is working on a package of measures to help struggling working-class voters earning just above the benefits threshold.
He is expected to introduce fresh childcare subsidies, a cap on household energy bills, a freeze on fuel duty and cuts to air passenger tax.
But investment in roads, rail, flood defences and housing will be at the heart of his big set-piece speech on Wednesday.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, Mr Hammond admits: “For years we haven’t invested enough in our national infrastructure and that’s held this country back.
“Our roads, rail, and housing all need an injection of cash to boost Britain’s growth.”
Britain lags behind Germany, France, Italy and the USA for productivity and needs to boost output to make the most of Brexit.
Delays on the road and rail networks cost households over £13billion a year – and 100 million working days will be lost by 2040 unless action is taken.
Mr Hammond will try to tackle the problem with a cash boost for local and major roads.
Nearly £1.1billion will go on upgrades to beat congestion and a further £220 million has been earmarked to tackle pinch-points on highways.
A further £27million is expected to be announced to build an 86-mile expressway linking Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge.
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A source said: “Philip has identified the importance of prioritising projects which make an immediate impact.
“He will set out how the government will fire up the nation’s economic infrastructure to close the UK’s productivity gap.”
Mr Hammond will signal further income tax cuts by announcing he will raise the threshold for higher-rate payers by about £1,000 and increasing personal allowance by £200.
But workers can expect a crackdown on tax-avoidance perks such as company cars and salary salary sacrifice schemes.
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