PM speeds up hospital building to aid economy
Johnson to relaunch domestic agenda with infrastructure push and NHS recruitment
BORIS JOHNSON has ordered ministers to speed up the construction of new hospitals as he prepares to set out a blueprint for how he will “rebuild Britain” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
In a major speech expected within weeks, the Prime Minister will set out plans to accelerate the Conservatives’ major infrastructure plans, including his manifesto pledges to build 40 new hospitals, and fund major upgrades to the country’s roads.
The speech will effectively relaunch the Conservatives’ domestic agenda after months of the Government focusing almost entirely on battling Covid-19. It will “map” the Government’s plans for the rest of the year, including an autumn budget and a review of departmental spending.
Mr Johnson’s plans to speed up large infrastructure projects are designed to help restore the economy and reduce unemployment, with warnings that the number of people out of work could soon exceed 10 per cent.
The Prime Minister has told colleagues that the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge to “level up” the country is more important than ever. While “getting the immediate crisis under control” remains Mr Johnson’s “main focus”, “he believes now is the time to be even more ambitious with his plans to unite and level up the country,” a Whitehall source said.
The Prime Minister’s plans also include:
Measures to increase the “resilience” of the NHS before the winter, including fast-tracked recruitment campaigns for doctors and nurses
Using the Government’s increase of the annual science budget from £9billion to £22billion by 2024 to fund research at institutions struggling with the loss of income from foreign students
A major drive to reduce delays in the delivery of government projects, with a new team already examining the effect of cumbersome planning rules and “endless consultations”. The team is studying possible reforms to the system of judicial reviews, resuming work begun in February when Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser, warned that there must be “urgent action on the farce that judicial review has become”
Transforming the use of data across government after real-time figures were used to help spot outbreaks and manage bed capacity during the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic in the UK
Examining how to increase the UK’s productivity with apprenticeships and further education, and by addressing problems such as poor skills and the lack of the technicians needed to support research and industry
On Tuesday, Mr Johnson will update the Cabinet on plans to ease further lockdown measures on June 15, including the opening of non-essential retailers, if Covid-19 transmission remains under control. Last month, this newspaper disclosed that the Prime Minister favoured proposals temporarily to relax Sunday trading laws to help boost
the economy and allow more time for key workers to shop while social distancing is in place. Yesterday, following a report that the relaxation could last for a year, Unite, the union, warned that shop workers were “exhausted and deserve to spend time with their families”. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has also been considering proposals for a £1.5billion car scrappage scheme to encourage the purchase of new vehicles. Mr Johnson is expected to use his keynote address to set out the Government’s plans to manage the pandemic while rebuilding and adapting the UK economy for a post-Covid world.
A new team of No10 and Treasury officials are working on plans for a “systemic speeding up” of major infrastructure projects to help boost the economy, including road, rail and energy projects. A major focus is bringing forward funding and construction work that the Conservatives pledged would lead to 40 new hospitals by 2030. The plans included giving six trusts £2.7billion to develop new hos
‘People are worried about another decade of austerity and cuts to pay bill for virus – this is not going to happen’
pitals by 2025, with the remaining trusts given seed funding to develop projects that would be constructed between 2025 and 2030.
It is understood that officials will examine which projects can be sped up, and by how much, on a case-by-case basis.
The Conservatives’ manifesto also pledged a £28.8billion investment in strategic and local roads, and £1billion on a “fast-charging network” to ensure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehicle charging station.
The Prime Minister is also expected to outline a major research and development drive, with the No10 and Treasury team holding talks with universities about funding projects relating to energy, data infrastructure, robotics, and synthetic biology.
The plans to reform the judicial review system are based on the belief that spurious cases can cost the government billions and add years of delays to major projects.
A Whitehall source said: “People are worried that they will face another decade of austerity and cuts to public services to pay the bill for coronavirus – this is not going to happen. Getting the immediate crisis under control remains the Prime Minister’s main focus. But the Government is also preparing for tough economic times ahead.
“In the election the PM made the right diagnosis of the problems many people face.
“He believes now is the time to be even more ambitious with his plans to unite and level up the country.”