Rebuilding Britain - Increasing Capital Spending

2nd November 2024

The government is delivering its growth mission by prioritising stability, investment and reform to drive prosperity across the UK. The Budget takes the difficult decisions to put the public finances on a sustainable path to create the conditions for growth.

Supported by the new fiscal framework, the Budget increases public investment by more than £100 billion over the next five years to boost growth and help crowd in private investment in the long run. Capital investment will increase by £13 billion next year, taking total departmental capital spending to £131 billion in 2025-26.

This includes investing in transport, kickstarting the delivery of 1.5 million homes, supporting new industries and job creation, and protecting record R&D funding. The Budget also increases investment in public services, recognising that a well-functioning NHS and education system are critical to the economy.

With new guardrails that will govern the approach to capital spending, and new and strengthened institutions, the government is reforming the way it plans, assures, delivers and evaluates capital spending. These changes will provide greater certainty for departments, investors and supply chains, and greater assurance that investment achieves value for money, is well delivered and supports growth.

The government will work in partnership with the private sector to further increase investment. The government has created the National Wealth Fund to catalyse over £70 billion of private investment, set out plans for a modern Industrial Strategy to support investment in growth-driving sectors, and launched a pensions review to unlock greater investment in UK growth assets.

The government is making the reforms needed to deliver sustained growth in the long-term. These include ambitious planning reforms to remove barriers to growth, the development of a 10-year infrastructure strategy to be published alongside Phase 2 of the Spending Review, the forthcoming publication of the Get Britain Working White Paper, and the establishment of Skills England to ensure we have the highly-trained workforce needed to deliver economic growth.

The government's growth policy priorities, under the framework of stability, investment and reform, have been structured into seven pillars, as illustrated in chapter 3. These priorities are being taken forward in partnership with business, and backed by a continuous focus on delivery supported by a Growth Delivery Unit established in HM Treasury.

Autumn Budget 2024 is fixing the foundations of the economy and beginning a decade of national renewal. The government is protecting working people, fixing the NHS, and boosting investment to deliver growth and prosperity for all parts of the country.