There is support for the £9.4bn High Level Output Specification (HLOS) – billed as the largest programme of investment in the railways since Victorian times.
There are UK Guarantees for major infrastructure projects such as the Northern Line Extension to Battersea and to Drax Power, which has been offered a guarantee worth up to £75m for the partial conversion of its power station from coal to biomass.
The Treasury also published an update on National Infrastructure Plan 2011, setting out progress on its Top 40 priority investments.
Reform is promised in the government’s approach to infrastructure delivery. What is described as “an enhanced central cadre of commercial specialists” from Infrastructure UK will be deployed across government and by this summer will establish new Infrastructure Capacity Plans for key government departments.
Mr Osborne said: “We’re already supporting the largest programme of investment in our railways since Victorian times – and spending more on new roads than in a generation.
“We’re giving Britain the fastest broadband and mobile telephony in Europe.
“And the Treasury is now writing guarantees to major projects from supporting the regeneration of the old Battersea Power Station site to building the new Power Stations of tomorrow.
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“We’ve switched billions of pounds from current to capital spending since the spending review. But on existing plans, capital spending is still due to fall back in 2015-16. I don’t think that’s sensible.
“So by using our extra savings from government departments, we will boost our infrastructure plans by £3 billion a year from 2015-16.
“That’s £15 billion of extra capital spending over the next decade. Because by investing in the economic arteries of this country, we will get growth flowing to every part of it.
“And public investment will now be higher on average as a percentage of our national income under our plans than it was in the whole period of the last Government.
“In June, we will set out long term spending plans for that long term capital budget.
“And we will use the expertise of Paul Deighton, the man who delivered the Olympics and who now serves in the Treasury, to improve the capacity of Whitehall to deliver big projects and make greater use of independent advice.”
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