UK plans to lift growth in poor areas
Source: Agencies |
March 7, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITAIN'S Treasury chief on Saturday unveiled plans to invest at least 100 million pounds (US$162.7 million) to fuel growth in poor areas.
The government will create at least 10 "enterprise zones" in areas considered to have high growth potential, such as northern England and the Midlands, George Osborne told a Conservative Party conference in Wales.
He said the plans will offer incentives such as lower taxes and simpler planning rules in those zones in an attempt to attract businesses and create jobs.
Local councils will also be allowed to keep revenue from business so it can be plowed back into the economy, Osborne added.
The measures he outlined will be included in the upcoming UK budget and hark back to similar policies established under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, when 38 "enterprise zones" were created between 1981 and 1996.
The Treasury chief stressed that the enterprise zones would diversify Britain's economy away from the battered financial sector and said he wanted to see a revival in the manufacturing sector.
"We need other parts of Britain, and other sectors of our economy, to grow and succeed," Osborne told the conference. "Wouldn't it be good if Britain made things again?"
Osborne's announcement comes less than three weeks before the UK budget, which he said will confront the "forces of stagnation" hindering a British economic recovery.
Britain is facing 80 billion pounds of public spending cuts by Prime Minister David Cameron's government as it struggles to get the country's massive budget deficit under control.
Cameron has already raised sales tax from 17.5 percent to 20 percent in a bid to raise an extra 13 billion pounds for the country's coffers this year. More painful measures are still to come, including spending cuts on services like welfare and a rise in the retirement age.
But Osborne on Saturday hinted that a proposed 1 pence (2 US cents) increase in fuel duty could be scrapped as fears mount over soaring oil prices.
He said it's clear that Britons are feeling "squeezed" at the pump as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East drives prices higher.
"I know how hard the rises in world oil prices are hurting families in Britain," Osborne said. "I say this to people watching: 'I hear you.'"
The government will create at least 10 "enterprise zones" in areas considered to have high growth potential, such as northern England and the Midlands, George Osborne told a Conservative Party conference in Wales.
He said the plans will offer incentives such as lower taxes and simpler planning rules in those zones in an attempt to attract businesses and create jobs.
Local councils will also be allowed to keep revenue from business so it can be plowed back into the economy, Osborne added.
The measures he outlined will be included in the upcoming UK budget and hark back to similar policies established under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, when 38 "enterprise zones" were created between 1981 and 1996.
The Treasury chief stressed that the enterprise zones would diversify Britain's economy away from the battered financial sector and said he wanted to see a revival in the manufacturing sector.
"We need other parts of Britain, and other sectors of our economy, to grow and succeed," Osborne told the conference. "Wouldn't it be good if Britain made things again?"
Osborne's announcement comes less than three weeks before the UK budget, which he said will confront the "forces of stagnation" hindering a British economic recovery.
Britain is facing 80 billion pounds of public spending cuts by Prime Minister David Cameron's government as it struggles to get the country's massive budget deficit under control.
Cameron has already raised sales tax from 17.5 percent to 20 percent in a bid to raise an extra 13 billion pounds for the country's coffers this year. More painful measures are still to come, including spending cuts on services like welfare and a rise in the retirement age.
But Osborne on Saturday hinted that a proposed 1 pence (2 US cents) increase in fuel duty could be scrapped as fears mount over soaring oil prices.
He said it's clear that Britons are feeling "squeezed" at the pump as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East drives prices higher.
"I know how hard the rises in world oil prices are hurting families in Britain," Osborne said. "I say this to people watching: 'I hear you.'"
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
