Chancellor set to announce millions for centre devoted to counter-terrorism
Intelligence agencies and senior police officers will be brought together in a new "world-leading" counter-terrorism operations centre to disrupt threats, the Chancellor is set to announce.
Rishi Sunak is expected to commit tens of millions of pounds in the spending review this week to the project which ministers hope will be operational within five years.
Counter-terrorism police, intelligence agencies and the criminal justice system will be united under the proposal to coordinate expertise and resources in a state-of-the-art facility.
It is hoped that the Counter Terrorism Operations Centre will enable the UK to respond more quickly and effectively to terror threats, as well as combating hostile state activity and organised crime.
Mr Sunak said: "Our police and intelligence agencies do an extraordinary job every day to protect us all from terrorist activity. Bringing these partners together to form a worldleading operations centre will enable them to work more collaboratively to disrupt threats - allowing the Government to deliver on its first and foremost duty to keep the public safe."
Home Secretary Pr it iP at el said: "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our police, intelligence agencies and criminal justice system who work tirelessly every single day to keep us safe from terrorism.
"This world-leading new centre will fully integrate their wealth of knowledge and exp er tise to ensure that we are responding to the range of threats this nation faces as quickly and effectively as possible."
The plans were drawn up in the wake of MI5 and police reviews carried out after the terror attacks in London and Manchester in 2017. Former terror laws watchdog Lord Anderson found that the police and security services should improve their collaboration and share intelligence more widely.
A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing said :" Close collaboration between our law enforcement, intelligence and wider partners has always been at the heart of what we do, and this project will only improve that relationship - accelerating the UK'S ongoing mission to get ahead of the terrorist threat and keep the country safe."
Mr Sunak is also promising a multi-billion-pound package to help hundreds of thousands of jobless back into work. He said his" number one priority" is to protect jobs and livelihoods in the wake of the economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. The review will include £2.9 billion over three years for a new Restart scheme designed to help more than a million unemployed people find jobs. Under the programme, the Treasury said people who have been out of work for more than 12 months will be provided with regular intensive support tailored to their circumstances. There will be a further £1.4 billion of funding to increase capacity in Job Centre Plus to provide additional assistance to those looking for work. Mr Sunak will also confirm funding for the next stage of his Plan for Jobs - including £1.6 billion for the Kickstart programme, which the Treasury has said willc reate up to 250,000 state-subsidised jobs for young people. The scheme, first launched in August, offering employers £2,000 for every new apprentice they take on, is to be extended to the end of March. There will also be a £375 million skills package, in cluding £138 million of new funding to deliver Boris Johnson's Lifetime Skills Guarantee. Speaking ahead of his state - men tin the Commons, Mr Sunak said: "My number one priority is to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK. "This Spending Review will ensure hundreds of thousands of jobs are supported and protected in the acute phase of this crisis and beyond with a multibillion package of investment to ensure that no - one is left without hope or opportunity." CBI policy director Matthew Fell said the Chancellor was right to focus on job creation as the economy looked to recover in 2021. "Covid-19 has swept away many job opportunities, for young people in particular," he said. "The scarring effects of longterm unemployment are all too real, so the sooner more people can get back into work the better."
However, an expected 5.6 per cent increase to the national living wage - which was due to increase to £9.21 an hour in April - will be cut back to £8.90 an hour, a rise of two per cent. It followed a report from the Low Pay Commission - who said there were around two million workers paid at or below the minimum wage in April 2019 - claiming the full rise from the current rate of £8.72 an hour was unaffordable. Employees aged 25 and over are entitled to the National Living Wage, with lower rates-the national minimum wage-applying to those who are younger. In March's budget, Mr Sunak gave the commission, which recommends the wage rates, a formal target that as long as economic conditions allow, by 2024, the statutory rate will reach two thirds of median earnings. However, lockdown brought economic activity to a halt, with tax revenues drying up, while the Treasury has paid out more than £200 billion on furlough and other schemes to try to nurse the economy through the crisis. The latest official figures for October show public sector debt passed the £2 trillion mark for the first time in history.
Meanwhile, an" inflation shake-up", where the measure will switch from the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to the generally lower Consumer Prices Index plus housing costs (CPIH), could cost investors more than £100 billion.
The Government and UK Statistics Authority has previously consulted on the plans which proposed implementing the changes between 2025 and 2030, and Mr Sunak is expected to press ahead.