£4.5bn Lost In Infrastructure Funding In Just 12 Months

£4.5bn Lost In Infrastructure Funding In Just 12 Months

The Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee has warned that major infrastructure projects in the UK could be hurt even further if the funding gap isn’t plugged by the government once we leave the EU and lose access to the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Apparently, the country has lost more than £4.5 billion in infrastructure funding in a year as lending from the EU fell apart following the referendum, the Independent reports. Ministers have relied on funding from the EIB to fund projects, including Manchester’s tram extension and Crossrail.

Peers have now accused ministers of being vague with regards to the future with the EIB, which in the last 45 years has contributed over €114 billion to projects in the UK, including major water and sewerage systems, as well as roads in Scotland and the London Overground. In the last ten years, the EIB has invested €50 billion into our economy – and in 2015, made up a third of total funding for infrastructure projects on British soil.

Chair of the committee Baroness Falkner of Margravine was quoted by the news source as saying: “The UK’s infrastructure, and the industries that depend on infrastructure spending, will be hurt if the government does not quickly find a way of plugging the funding gap that will be created if access to the EIB is lost after Brexit. We’re calling on the government to give serious and swift consideration to the creation of a UK infrastructure bank.”

A spokesperson from the Treasury responded to the committee report, saying that the UK will see every penny of the £3 billion that has been put into the EIB, which can then be reinvested in our own infrastructure. And assurances have been made that projects currently ongoing will not be disrupted by Brexit in March.

This comes as Theresa May announced in an article in the Sunday Telegraph that she is determined that Brexit will indeed be delivered on time, saying that she will be going back to Brussels with a “fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination”, the BBC reports.

Currently, we’re set to leave the EU at 23:00 GMT on 29th March, which is when the two-year time limit on negotiations enforced by Article 50 expires. Some MPs have suggested that more time is needed in order for Britain to negotiate its exit so as to avoid leaving the EU without a deal in place.

Jeremy Hunt, foreign secretary, said at the end of January that extra time could well be required in order to ensure that “critical legislation” relating to Brexit can get through Parliament. But Ms May has since insisted that our departure date will not change, writing in the Daily Telegraph that Brexit would be delivered according to schedule.

Call Burflex today if you need scaffolders in Lincoln.

Contact Us

Ready to work together?

Get in touch