Spring Budget 2023: key measures

Source: Spring Budget 2023 – HM Treasury

Projects and devolution

• Investment Zones – “The government is launching the refocused Investment Zones programme to catalyse 12 high-potential knowledge-intensive growth clusters across the UK, including four across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. English Investment Zones will have access to interventions worth £80b over five years, including a single five-year tax package for businesses in Investment Zones and grant funding to address local productivity barriers. The government has invited local partners in eight areas in England to begin discussions on establishing Investment Zones. DLUHC is working closely with the devolved administrations to establish how Investment Zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be delivered. Further details will be announced in due course.”
• Trailblazer devolution deals and single settlements – “The government has agreed, subject to ratification, trailblazer devolution deals with the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. These deals equip the authorities with new levers over local transport, employment, housing, innovation and Net Zero priorities, a long term commitment to local authorities retaining 100% of their business rates, and include a commitment to provide these MCAS with single multi-year funding settlements at the next Spending Review.”
• Business rates retention – “The government intends to expand the local retention of business rates to more areas in the next Parliament and will work closely with interested councils to achieve this. The government also remains committed to bringing forward wider proposals to improve the local government finance landscape in the next Parliament. DLUHC will set out further details in due course.”
• New devolution deals – “Building on the six successful devolution deals agreed last year, the government will seek to negotiate a new wave of devolution deals in England over the coming year.”
• Withdrawing central support from Local Enterprise Partnerships – “The government is minded to withdraw all remaining central support for Local Enterprise Partnerships from April 2024. DLUHC and DBT will consult on this decision.”
• Levelling Up Partnerships – “The Spring Budget announces the rollout of new Levelling Up Partnerships, providing over £400 million and bringing the collective power of government to provide bespoke place-based regeneration in twenty of England’s areas most in need of levelling up over 2023-24 and 2024-25. The government will ensure a fair geographic spread across the regions of England, inviting the following areas to develop a partnership including: City of Kingston upon Hull, Sandwell, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Blackburn with Darwen, Hastings, Torbay, Tendring, Stoke-on-Trent, Boston, Redcar and Cleveland, Wakefield, Oldham, Rother, Torridge, Walsall, Doncaster, South Tyneside, Rochdale, and Bassetlaw. Apportionment of this investment will be made on a case-by-case basis, and in each of these places, the government will work with local leaders and mayors in councils and combined authorities, local businesses from all sectors, community organisations and residents to identify and address the biggest barriers to levelling up.”
• Levelling Up Regeneration Projects – “The Spring Budget announces £211 million for 16 regeneration projects in England. These projects have been assessed as high quality and will commence delivery later this year. Investment has been targeted towards the left-behind places in the Levelling Up White Paper or projects that are under £10 million to ensure quick delivery and a good spread of funding across England. All funding is subject to final subsidy checks.”
• Levelling Up Capital Projects – “£58 million will be invested in three levelling up capital projects in the North West of England. This will see a new community hub in Stockport, the transformation of Bootle town centre, and the redevelopment of markets as well as transport connectivity improvements in Rossendale.”
• City and Metropolitan Regeneration Projects – “The government has provided a further £161 million for high-value capital regeneration projects in city regions across England, including business premises and food science facilities in Tees Valley, and unlocking investment in a research campus in the Liverpool City Region.”
• Community Ownership Fund – “The government is announcing funding for a further 30 projects across the UK as part of the existing £150 million Community Ownership Fund.”
• Levelling Up Fund Round 3 update – “A third round of the Levelling Up Fund will proceed as planned later in 2023 with a further £1 billion to level up places across the UK.”

Planning, housing, highways

• Nutrient neutrality credit schemes – “DLUHC will open a call for evidence from local authorities in England for locally led nutrient neutrality credit schemes. Where high quality proposals are identified, this government will provide funding to support clearer routes for housing developers to deliver ‘nutrient neutral’ sites, in line with their environmental obligations.”
• New Housing Revenue Account Rate for the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) – "The government will bring forward a new discounted PWLB policy margin to support local authorities borrowing for Housing Revenue Accounts and the delivery of social housing."
• Potholes Fund: increase resources to maintain and improve local roads – “The government will allocate an additional £200 million for local road maintenance in England, including potholes, in 2023-24.”

Miscellaneous

• Care leavers support – “To help young people leaving residential care into employment, the government is providing an additional £8.1 million in each of the next two years to expand the Staying Close programme to around half of local authorities by March 2025. Staying Close provides young people leaving residential care with accommodation and practical and emotional support as they transition into independent adulthood.”
• Strengthening employment rights – “The government is supporting Private Members Bills that provide a day one right to request flexible working and grant specific groups protections or leave entitlements, including enhanced redundancy protection for pregnancy, family leave, carer’s leave, and neonatal care leave. In addition, the government is supporting bills to ensure that all tips go to staff and providing workers with the right to request a contract with more predictable hours.”
• Call for Evidence on informal Flexible working – "The government will bring forward a call for evidence to launch in Summer 2023 on informal and ad hoc flexible working to better understand informal agreements on flexible working between employees and employers."
• Swimming Pool Support Fund – “The government will provide over £60 million of support for public swimming pools across England. This will be targeted to address the immediate cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency measures to reform facilities, reduce future operating costs and deliver long-term sustainability.”