BROWN’S VISION – PLANNING REVOLUTION, NUCLEAR FUTURE AND TRANSPORT TRANSFORMATION

Hmmmm, says CBI!

More pressing matters may have weighed on his mind as he addressed the Confederation of British Industry yesterday morning but Prime Minister Gordon Brown had his vision firmly fixed on the future as he used his speech to make a case for increased transport investment and the construction of new nuclear power plants as key to the long term health of the British economy.
He also used his sermon to announce that much-anticipated legislation to modernise, reform and streamline (one hopes) planning laws, enabling the fast tracking of nationally significant infrastructure schemes, would be made public the following day.
"Whatever the ups and downs of the world economy, the short term fluctuations we face, globalisation forces us also to make the right long term decisions in infrastructure and planning, the environment and energy, science and education," said Brown.
He said that the Government's commitment to transport was evident with almost £20 BILLION of investment pledged annually until 2017. At the same, perhaps to the dismay of its opponents, he reinforcement his backing for a 3rd runway at Heathrow Airport.
"Following the case put in the Eddington and Barker reports the legislation which will be published tomorrow will put in place a streamlined system for making decisions on key national infrastructure projects," he added.
"… a new independent body to take decisions fairly and without delay while allowing the public and local communities to participate effectively in the process."
Brown's long-term vision for the UK economy also focused on energy security and he claimed that a new generation of nuclear power plants was paramount in the achievement of this.
The Prime Minister brought down the curtain on his address with a clarion call on the urgent need to improve the skills base of the UK workforce, too often lacking in the vocational skills beyond answering the telephone in a call centre or taking your order for a Big Mac.
"Up against the competition of over two billion people in China and India - with 5 million graduates a year - Britain, a small country, cannot compete on low skills but only on high skills," said Brown.
"In the old world you had colleges for everything that happened after school. Now we need a new focus on 16-19 year olds in sixth form centres — and a similar focus on community colleges with state of the art training facilities that increasingly specialise in adult vocational excellence.
"Today, as we come to terms with the far reaching nature of the global challenge, I have asked John Denham, who is responsible for skills, and Peter Hain, responsible for welfare, to bring together businesses, colleges, the whole of education and the voluntary sector to forge a new partnership to push through the scale of changes needed to equip people for the future."