{"id":58936,"date":"2015-07-09T12:17:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T12:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=27ffb8c4a593b2f6d14fd99a96052093"},"modified":"2015-07-09T12:17:26","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T12:17:26","slug":"speech-productivity-means-building-more-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=58936","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Productivity means building more roads"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Thank you for that introduction.<\/p>\n

Just before the election, the government published the country\u2019s first Road Investment Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A \u00a315 billion plan for England\u2019s roads.<\/p>\n

A plan which will buy the greatest improvement to our road network since the 1970s.<\/p>\n

1,300 miles of new lanes.<\/p>\n

New surfaces for 80% of our most important existing roads.<\/p>\n

And better roads to our airports and our sea ports.<\/p>\n

This morning (9 July 2015) I will affirm the new government\u2019s commitment to the Road Investment Strategy.<\/p>\n

But I also want to set the strategy in its economic context.<\/p>\n

Because it is the economic context which shows why road investment is more urgent now than ever.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Andrew<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Economic context<\/h2>\n

5 years ago, the deficit was more than 10% of GDP<\/abbr>; the highest in our peacetime history.<\/p>\n

After 5 years of tough decisions, the deficit is now less than half that, but it\u2019s still among the highest in the
\ndeveloped world.<\/p>\n

More significantly though, our economy has gone from recession to remarkable recovery.<\/p>\n

The Office of National Statistics has said the first quarter of 2015 was the ninth quarter in a row of continuous
\neconomic growth.<\/p>\n

And that our economic output is now estimated to be over 10% higher than its low in 2009.<\/p>\n

For 2015, Britain is expected to have the strongest economic growth of any major advanced economy in the
\nworld.<\/p>\n

But it is circumstances like these, when we have good economic growth alongside a still-too-high deficit, that the government could have the perfect excuse to cut capital spending on roads and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

After all, road investment costs money we could dearly use to reduce the deficit.<\/p>\n

And although the economic gains from road investment are beyond doubt.<\/p>\n

Our economy is growing, so some might say more spending on roads isn\u2019t needed.<\/p>\n

But that is not the position of this government.<\/p>\n

We are determined to restructure our economy for the long-term.<\/p>\n

Not pander to the false economies of the short term.<\/p>\n

And that is why the Road Investment Strategy \u2013 and the work that you will do in seeing that strategy through \u2013
\nis so vital.<\/p>\n

Productivity<\/h2>\n

This morning I want to explain the contribution that road investment will make to one of our country\u2019s greatest
\neconomic challenges.<\/p>\n

Productivity.<\/p>\n

For decades, the productivity of our economy has lagged behind that of our competitors.<\/p>\n

In simple terms, for every hour we spend working, we produce less than our competitors do in the same time.<\/p>\n

17% less, when you compare us to the rest of the G7.<\/p>\n

And 27% less than France.<\/p>\n

We only manage to make up some of the difference by working more hours.<\/p>\n

Economists argue about the reasons for the productivity gap.<\/p>\n

But everyone can agree on one thing.<\/p>\n

Much of the blame goes to the state of our national infrastructure.<\/p>\n

In the last 25 years, France has built more than 2 and a half thousand miles of motorway \u2013 and we\u2019ve built
\njust 300.<\/p>\n

Today, the World Economic Forum ranks Britain 27th in the world for infrastructure quality.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 6 places higher than we were in 2010, but it\u2019s still far behind countries such as France: 10th in the same
\nlist.<\/p>\n

Our roads \u2013 the arteries of our economy \u2013 are seizing up.<\/p>\n

Whenever a lorry-load of components fails to arrive on time because of congestion, whenever a business chooses not to open an office in a new city because they know it will mean staff
\nspending hours a day in slow moving traffic, whenever a client-meeting is postponed because emergency repairs have closed the road, that\u2019s the effect of our poor infrastructure on our productivity.<\/p>\n

If we do nothing, by 2040 congestion a quarter of all travel time will be spent sitting motionless in traffic.<\/p>\n

A further loss to national productivity equivalent to 100 million working days every year.<\/p>\n

Government and industry in partnership<\/h2>\n

That is why the government is now turning to the roads industry to help solve our productivity challenge.<\/p>\n

After announcing the Road Investment Strategy in December, we put the plan into our manifesto.<\/p>\n

The country voted for it.<\/p>\n

And we will keep our promise.<\/p>\n

But we will do more, too.<\/p>\n

Vehicle Excise Duty was originally intended to fund our roads, but for many years the receipts have been
\ntreated as general taxation.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Chancellor announced that this will end.<\/p>\n

From the end of this decade, every single penny raised in Vehicle Excise Duty in England will go into a new
\nstrategic Roads Fund.<\/p>\n

The Roads Fund will pay for the sustained investment our strategic roads so badly need.<\/p>\n

This is proof the government\u2019s commitment to deliver road investment is no short-lived enthusiasm, but a long-term reversal of national policy.<\/p>\n

Now we want to support you to get the work done.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great opportunity for the road building industry.<\/p>\n

If \u2013 together \u2013 we get it right, the roads sector will make the greatest contribution to national competitiveness, stability and prosperity than it has for generations.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are challenges.<\/p>\n

But this government won\u2019t load the burden of those challenges solely on the shoulders of the industry.<\/p>\n

It has to be a partnership.<\/p>\n

We are already changing the historical attitude to road investment held by successive governments.<\/p>\n

Because in the past, the problem wasn\u2019t just the lack of investment.<\/p>\n

It was the fact that when investment did come, it tended to be unpredictable and inconsistent, often announced in haste, and then quietly dropped in haste.<\/p>\n

This stop-start approach to investment has had a damaging effect on the road building industry.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t make sense to invest in equipment that risked standing idle, or maintain a standing army of road builders.<\/p>\n

And so every time there was an outbreak of spending, much of the cost went on short-notice hiring and training.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s inefficient for you, it doesn\u2019t get the best value for tax payers, and it\u2019s not an attractive proposition for anyone thinking of joining the industry.<\/p>\n

So in the Infrastructure Act 2015, we wrote the road investment strategy into the law, holding this and all future governments to the same long-term roads planning.<\/p>\n

It will reduce cost to the tax payer, and it will give certainty to the industry.<\/p>\n

Certainty to invest in equipment, staff and training.<\/p>\n

Certainty for contractors to strengthen relationships with their suppliers.<\/p>\n

Certainty to hire new engineers, surveyors and construction workers.<\/p>\n

Apprentices, graduates and project managers.<\/p>\n

The industry must capitalise on that new certainty now.<\/p>\n

Because we estimate that the road building industry will need to grow by a third, at the same time as skilled people are in demand for all our other great infrastructure projects; Crossrail, HS2<\/abbr>, HS3<\/abbr>, new power stations, the northern line extension, flood defences.<\/p>\n

All these projects have entered the competition for ambitious recruits.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships will help.<\/p>\n

But we need the industry to get behind the plan, too.<\/p>\n

So when the road consultations have finished and the work goes out to tender, we will ask \u2013 do bidders have access to the skills to get the job done?<\/p>\n

Do they have the apprenticeship programmes and the training in place?<\/p>\n

The answer must be: \u2018yes\u2019.<\/p>\n

Because this government\u2019s commitment to the Road Investment Strategy could not be stronger.<\/p>\n

The economic case is clear.<\/p>\n

We are choosing to make this unprecedented investment not despite the condition of our economy, but because of the long-term needs of our economy.<\/p>\n

We will work with you and support you.<\/p>\n

But now it is down to you \u2013 the professionals and experts, the leaders of your companies \u2013 to get the work
\ndone.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The economic case for road investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58936"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}