Good Evening,
What started out as planning, developed into campaigning, and this week became bidding as we officially launched the process to establish at least seven new freeports. This is a policy I have been passionate about for a long time: it's just a shame the only port I was allowed to visit hasn't actually operated since 1981.
Back on land, this week we've been busy preparing for the Spending Review next Wednesday where we'll be prioritising the response to coronavirus, and our focus on supporting jobs. We have decided to conduct a one-year Spending Review, setting department’s resource and capital budgets for 2021-22, and Devolved Administration’s block grants for the same period. Multi-year NHS and schools’ resource settlements will be fully funded, as will priority infrastructure projects.
Other things to look out for from this week are our announcements on defence and the Sport Winter Survival Package where £300 million has been provided to help protect spectator sports in England.
Read more Treasury-related news below. Thank You.
Top News
Freeports Set Sail
The bidding process to establish new, innovative Freeports that will boost the economy, create thousands of jobs and turbo-charge post-Brexit trade opened this week.
Seizing on the opportunities presented by leaving the EU, ports and their communities across England can now apply for Freeport status, in a move that will transform historic sea, air and rail ports into national hubs for trade, innovation and commerce, to regenerate communities in our industrial heartlands as the nation levels up and builds back better.
At the centre of the new Freeports policy is an ambitious new customs model, drawing on international best practice, and building on the UK’s existing customs arrangements. Read more via the link below.
Stat of the Week
Making Moves
Our Stamp Duty holiday is helping to get the economy moving. House sales were up 72% between July and September, supporting jobs in the housing sector and the local trades associated with it. Furthermore total stamp duty receipts in Q3 2020 were 27% higher than in Q2 2020 due to the easing of the lockdown measures.
This measure was just one part of our Plan For Jobs - a package of measures to support jobs in every part of the country, give businesses the confidence to retain and hire, and provide people with the tools they need to get better jobs. Read more below.
One to Watch
Lord Hill Listings
As part of our plan to strengthen the UK’s position as a leading global financial centre, the UK Listings Review launched this week and will be chaired by Lord Hill.
It will review the rules governing how companies raise equity capital on UK public markets and make recommendations to optimise the process. The UK already has some of the deepest and most liquid equity markets in the world, with over £30 billion raised through the first six months of the pandemic.
The Review will help to attract more high-quality initial public offerings and equity listings to the UK by ensuring that large and small companies – including innovative, high-growth firms from across the globe - can more easily access the finance they need here.
Final Word
Game On
This week we announced that major spectator sports in England will receive a combined £300 million cash injection to protect their immediate futures over the winter period.
The Sports Winter Survival Package will support sports - from national governing bodies through to clubs - impacted by coronavirus restrictions.
The funding, which will be largely composed of loans, is the most generous of any government for its domestic sport sector in the world, and will focus on sports severely impacted over the winter.