Tag: Cambridge

The chancellor said the extra spending on projects in Cambridge, Edinburgh and Oxfordshire, would ensure the UK was “at the forefront of science and technology innovation” and maintain its reputation as a “pioneering nation as it leaves the EU”. It’s possible that following bumper income tax receipts in January the OBR will increase the level of headroom by more than £15bn, giving the chancellor greater scope to increase the state’s support for households and businesses over the rest of the parliament. However, economists expect the OBR to lower the UK’s expected growth rate over the next two years, dampening future tax receipts and limiting the scope for extra spending. It is other parts of the country and other industries that are desperately in need of government support.” Hammond is understood to be planning only a limited spending spree when he stands up to deliver his mini-budget on Wednesday, to maintain the Treasury’s war chest should a no-deal Brexit trigger a recession and widespread job losses. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises 34 of the world’s richest countries, said last week that a no-deal Brexit would most likely cause the economy to shrink, though it added this prospect could be offset by extra Treasury spending and moves by the Bank of England to reduce the cost of borrowing. Hammond will say the £200m of extra cash will be spent on three projects the over the next four years in Cambridge, Oxfordshire and Edinburgh. The sums are: • £45m to support work in Cambridge sequencing one million genomes and exploring innovative cell therapies to tackle genetic diseases. • £81m for medical laser technology at the Harwell research centre in Oxfordshire, which is home to the European Space Agency’s UK base. The funds will support an industry worth £13bn to the economy, and employing around 65,000 people. The chancellor said the funds were part of the government’s commitment to raise investment in research and development to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.