The Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill, which will enable the Government to guarantee up to £40 billion of investment in infrastructure including flood defences, today received Royal Assent.
The Bill has now become an Act of Parliament and will be known as the Infrastructure Act. It passed through Parliament in just 55 days and will enable the Government to underwrite major infrastructure projects under the UK Guarantees scheme. Since the launch of the scheme in July, over 60 projects have come forward for discussions with the Treasury.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said:
“Securing Royal Assent just three months after the launch of the UK Guarantee scheme shows that we are getting on with delivering the vital infrastructure that the country needs to boost growth.
“Since July we’ve had significant interest from industry, and passed the legislation to make the scheme a reality. We can now get on with the search for eligible projects, and I hope today’s progress will encourage project sponsors to come forward to see how they can take advantage of the strength of the UK’s balance sheet by taking up a guarantee.”
Flood defence projects will be included in the Bill, but whether any private sector uptake occurs in these kinds of schemes remains to be seen.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel has been rumoured to be a beneficiary of the Bill, however in reality the Bill may have little to do with Thames Water’s ‘supersewer’ as the Government has already underwritten the project with the Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill, which gained Royal Assent back in May.
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