Spending review brings opportunities to boost skills and jobs in Kent and Medway but more investment needed

The CEO of Locate in Kent, the inward investment agency for Kent and Medway, says the unique needs of the county as the Gateway to Europe must not be forgetten by the UK Government in its drive to promote greater economic growth nationwide.

Today’s Spending Review announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer included capital spending for which Kent and Medway will hope to claim a share including:

• £39bn of capital funding to help build more social and affordable housing across the country over the next 10 years
• Homes England to take on an increased ‘housing bank role’ with £10bn available for investment
• £1.2bn to support over a million young people nationwide into training and apprenticeships
• £86bn to support the growth of the UK’s science and technology sector with up to £500m for regions to support ‘high potential innovation clusters.’
• 5% of GDP on defence by 2027/2028 that may lead to increased orders for defence firms and their supply chain based in the region
• £14.2bn investment in nuclear energy including a drive to build small modular reactors across the UK
• The investment capabilities of the British Business Bank, the UK’s development bank will increase to reach £25.6bn, supporting more start ups and scale ups.

However there was no mention of direct capital investment for transport and other infrastructure projects in the county, including the Lower Thames Crossing  with the exception of the promise of a “four-fold increase” in funding for local transport plans.

Instead transport infrastructure investment worth £15.6bn will be focused on areas outside London and the South East with funding for new trains, trains and buses in England focused on Greater Manchester, the Midlands and Tyne-and-Wear.  The location, meanwhile, for the first new small modular nuclear reactor was not revealed today. It is hoped that the publication next week of the government’s Infrastructure Strategy may reveal more.

Nick Fenton, CEO Locate in Kent, said: “Kent and Medway and the wider south-east drive the UK economy. With that comes opportunities but also challenges. While there was much to welcome in today’s spending review announcement, it’s clear the government’s investment focus in terms of specific projects was elsewhere.

“If we are to continue to deliver more housing and high-skilled jobs in high-growth sectors, if we are to keep the region moving and boost trade with Europe then it’s important that there is the future investment – whether public or private – to back it.

“Kent and Medway is the gateway county to the UK for international trade, benefiting the whole country with a diverse economy worth £44bn annually thanks, in no small part to being one of the best-connected areas in the UK. This should be recognised.

“£144bn worth of UK trade and a third of all trade with the European Union is handled by the Port of Dover alone. A further million tonnes of freight are transported through the Channel Tunnel. This cannot be ignored in terms of the improved road and rail needed to support it.

“While it’s right that investment is shared across the UK to stimulate regional economies, we had hoped to see support for key projects across Kent and Medway from motorway junction improvements, investment in our science parks  and green energy to unlocking the potential of the Thames Gateway for our creative industries.

“This was also a real opportunity to focus on projects and ideas that would make buying or renting homes in the southeast more affordable, and invest in our schools, universities and workplaces to build the skills needed to support the growing clusters of businesses that are choosing to locate here.

“Not investing sufficiently in Kent and Medway is a false economy, that risks the growth the government is seeking to achieve, especially in sectors in which the region is performing strongly and is contributing to GDP, including Life Sciences, the Creative Industries, Advanced Manufacturing, Defence and Agri-Food.”