Cuts Watch #73: the review of spending decisions
This afternoon, Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, announced the results of the Treasury review of spending decisions made after 1 January.Adam reported on this review at the beginning of the month, but it is a side to the cuts that has been missed by most of the media commentators.
The headline is the cancellation of 12 projects worth £2bn, and the ‘suspension’ of another 12, worth £8.5bn. The single item that will get most coverage will be the cancellation of an £80m loan to Sheffield Forgemasters to build components for nuclear power stations. Being next door to Nick Clegg’s constituency will make Forgemasters very high-profile; Clegg has said that the loan was a “cynical ploy” by the last government – though there was never any hint that it would not be delivered.
Other projects that have been cancelled are:
- Department for Culture Media and Sport: Stonehenge Visitor Centre: £25m
- Communities and Local Government: Local Authority Leader Boards: £16m
- Business Innovation and Skills: Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited: £80m
- Department for Work and Pensions: Roll-out of the Future Jobs Fund: £290m*
- DWP: Six-month offer recruitment subsidies: £30m*
- DWP: Extension of Young Person’s Guarantee to 2011-12: £450m
- DWP: Two-year Jobseeker’s Guarantee: £515m
- Department of Health: Active Challenge Routes: Walk England: £2m
- DoH: County Sports Partnerships: £6m
- DoH: North Tees and Hartlepool hospital: £450m
- Local Government: Local Authority Business Growth Initiative (LABGI): £50m*
- Regional Development Agencies: Outukumpu: £13m
The ‘suspended’ projects are:
- Department for Culture Media and Sport: Libraries Modernisation Programme: £12m
- Communities and Local Government: Sheffield Retail Quarter: £12m
- CLG: Kent Thameside Strategic Transport Programme: £23m
- Business Innovation and Skills: University Enterprise Capital Fund: £25m
- BIS: Newton Scholarships: £25m
- Department of Health: Health Research Support Initiative: £73m
- DoH: Leeds Holt Park Well-being Centre: £50m
- Ministry of Justice: Birmingham Magistrates Court: £94m*
- Ministry of Defence: Successor Deterrent Extension to Concept Phase Long Lead Items: £66m
- MoD: Search and Rescue Helicopters: £4.7bn
- Department for Transport: Search and Rescue Helicopters – joint procurement with MoD: £2.3bn
- DfT: A14 road: £1.1bn
(* – cut that has already been announced)
We’ll provide more details as they become available.
Cuts Watch #74: Libraries Modernisation Programme | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC
Jun 17th 2010, 3:05 pm
[…] The Libraries Modernisation Programme has been a victim of today’s cuts. […]
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Jun 17th 2010, 8:11 pm
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Cuts Watch #112: More projects to be cancelled | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC
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[…] total of £1.54 billion. The Building Schools for the Future scheme will be especially hard hit. We reported the 17 June Treasury announcement, in which £2 billion worth of projects were cancelled and […]