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Economy

• Office for Budget Responsibility slashed growth forecasts to the following, although this was better than the return to recession predicted by other forecasters.

2011 0.9% (previously 1.7%)
2012 0.7% (previously 2.5%)
2013 2.1% (previously 2.9%)
2014 2.7% (previously 2.9%)
2015 3% (previously 2.8%)

Infrastructure spending

• 500 projects backed or brought forward as part of an updated National Infrastructure Plan. The projects are
• £5bn of current spending diverted to capital projects over this parliament, with £5bn of the same earmarked for the next parliament
• The government also identified 40 priority areas of infrastructure, where it says it has acted to resolve any barriers to investment. These include Crossrail, road upgrades and energy schemes.
• Plan to persuade pension funds to invest a further £20bn in infrastructure projects

Projects confirmed today include:

Roads

• Taking forward immediate investment on the A14 to reduce congestion and increase resilience including junction improvements;
• funding the A14 Kettering bypass between Junctions 7 and 9;
• funding the A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme;
• improving access to Manchester Airport by building a new dual carriageway road linking the M56 at Manchester Airport to the A6 south of Stockport;
• investing in A453 widening between Nottingham, the M1 and East Midlands airport;
• taking forward two new managed motorway schemes on the M3 in Surrey and on the M6 along part of the route between Birmingham and Manchester;
• accelerating the current major projects planned on the M25 (Junctions 23-27) and the M1 (Junctions 39-42);
• writing down debt on the Humber Bridge to halve the tolls for cars;
• investing in major road improvements on the M1/M6 Junction 19; and
• providing additional funding for a Road Pinch Point Fund to ease local bottlenecks and improve safety and road layout.

Public transport

• Support the electrification of the Transpennine Express route from Manchester to Leeds and consider of further investment in the Northern Hub;
• support the East-West rail project between Oxford and Bedford;
• support Network Rail to reduce disruption on the rail network;
• support Network Rail to improve the railway network including bringing forward bridge renewals, enhancing access to stations and improving resilience to winter weather;
• extend flexible smart ticketing across London and the South East;
• limit increases in Transport for London and regulated rail fares;
• support the procurement of new carriages for the Southern rail franchise;
• provide extra funding for local transport; and
• support the purchase of new low carbon emission buses

Local infrastructure projects

20 schemes were announced today, with more to follow in December. Those announced were:

• Crewe Green Link Southern Section
• Manchester Cross City Bus
• Rochdale Interchange
• A43 Corby Link Road
• Hucknall Town Centre Improvement Scheme
• London Road Bridge (Derby)
• A45 Westbound Bridge (Solihull)
• Evesham Bridge Maintenance
• A164 Humber Bridge to Beverley - including capacity and safety improvements at four roundabouts
• A18-A180 Link (North east Lincolnshire)
• A6182 White Rose Way Improvement Scheme (Doncaster)
• Access York Park and Ride
• Leeds Rail Growth - Two new railway stations at Kirkstall Forge and Appley Bridge to the West of Leeds
• Lincoln Eastern Bypass
• Supertram additional vehicles (Sheffield)
• BRT Ashton Vale to Temple Meads (Bristol) - Bus rapid transit scheme, including guided bus
• Kingskerswell Bypass (Devon/Torbay)
• South Bristol Link Phases 1 and 2 - New link road
• Northern Road Bridge (Portsmouth)
• Tipner Interchange (Portsmouth) - New interchange on M275

Housing

Scrapping additional stamp duty holiday for first time buyers

Reiteration of the reintroduction of the Right to Buy initiative, under which council housing tenants will be offered the right to buy their homes at a discount of up to 50%, with the proceeds funding the development of new affordable housing.

£400m mortgage indemnity scheme to help bring forward development on stalled sites

Schools

£600m capital funding to deliver an additional 100 free schools by the end of the parliament. This will include specialist maths free schools

Additional £600m to help address the shortage of school places in the areas with the greatest need by delivering an additional 40,000 places.

SMEs

£40bn programme of credit easing, whereby the government will underwrite bank loans to small firms