Chris Murray MP has welcomed the official opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub at Queen Margaret University, a major new centre for innovative businesses which has received £28.6 million in UK Government funding.
Chris Murray MP attended the launch of the new Hub, opened by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland Melanie Ward and Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn.
The £40 million Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a joint venture between East Lothian Council and Queen Margaret University (QMU), and forms the first phase of the planned Edinburgh Innovation Park.
It is part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. It is supported by £28.6 million from the UK Government,£1.4 million from the Scottish Government and £10 million from East Lothian Council.
The new facility provides specialist laboratory, office, meeting and conference space for innovative businesses, with a particular focus on life sciences, food and drink, technology, start-ups and related sectors.
The Hub has already welcomed companies including Forge Minerals, Aurora Avionics and Riverwood Ecology, with a further life sciences company recently signing a lease to move around 40 employees into the facility.
The opening represents a significant investment in Edinburgh and the region’s innovation economy and is intended to support the growth of high-value businesses and create highly skilled employment.
Chris Murray MP said:“It was fantastic to be at the opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub and to see the businesses already making use of this impressive new facility.
“This part of Scotland has been short-changed for too long, with not enough Government support to create the jobs of the future.
“So as the local MP, I am delighted to see such significant UK Government investment, driven by our brilliant Scottish Labour Ministers. This money will help to create opportunities for innovative businesses to scale up and deliver high-skilled jobs right here in Edinburgh and East Lothian.
“Andy Burnham and the Labour Government are determined to deliver growth and invest in good jobs in the industries of the future, and the Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a great example of what that ambition looks like in practice.
“We have an enormous amount of talent and potential across Edinburgh and Musselburgh, across life sciences, technology, aerospace, environmental innovation and more. This Hub will allow this talent to build the businesses of the future right here in Musselburgh.
“I look forward to working with the Hub, Queen Margaret University, the Scottish Government, East Lothian Council and the UK Government to make sure that potential is realised.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Melanie Ward MP said:“The opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a vital step in backing Scottish innovation and building a modern, resilient economy.
“Significant UK Government investment of over £28 million is giving start-ups the specialised lab space they need to accelerate breakthroughs, scale up quickly, and create high-skilled jobs across the region.
“This project shows the tangible impact of targeted UK Government support. While the Hub acts as a flagship engine for the regional economy, its impact links directly into communities right across Scotland.
“By connecting cutting-edge innovation with national supply chains – from Scotland’s space sector to freshwater ecology – we are using targeted regional investments to bring growth, high-skilled jobs, and economic opportunities to every postcode across Scotland.”
Action to be taken on cost of living, local regeneration and essential services to drive down costs and support families.
Taskforces will tackle the immediate priorities of the public, building on action already taken including cutting bus fares and cracking down on subscription traps.
First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh to drive forward work across government to develop local solutions for local communities.
Three new cross-government taskforces are being launched in the new Office for the Prime Minister & Cabinet, tackling systemic issues like the cost of living and public control of essentials and supporting local communities.
The three taskforces will coordinate departments and ministers, focusing on the priorities set out by the Prime Minister to Cabinet yesterday.
The priorities will be driven forward by First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh, who will work across central and local government – including with regional Mayors as the government continues to pass powers from Westminster.
Immediate action will focus on challenging everyday rip-offs, the visible decline of local town centres and the failure of many privatised utilities to deliver basic services at a fair price.
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that the government’s priorities are the public’s priorities.
“This is about putting people back in control of the things that matter most to them and ensuring that the everyday essentials are more affordable and more accountable.”
Based in the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the taskforces will be fully integrated with No10 and across government to deliver the change the public rightly expect to see.
Details on the three priorities and taskforces:
Cost of Living
On the cost of living, earning back public trust begins with understanding the pressures facing families at the kitchen table. Action has already been taken in this area, including cuts to bus fares, support with energy bills and cracking down on subscription traps, but we must go further.
The taskforce will look to address the long term issues facing families, many of which have too often fallen through the cracks.
Public Control
For decades, the essential services that underpin daily life – housing, water, energy and transport – have suffered from over-privatisation, leading to high costs for the public. The Government is clear that the public has a right to expect these services to be affordable and accountable.
The public control taskforce will rewire the state, examining how public control across those four sectors can be utilised to return them to public service, and bring down costs for families. Looking at areas including market reform that could support these aims.
Community Renewal
Our communities have been left behind, high streets falling into disrepair, rubbish piling up at the sides of our streets – we will reverse that, improving people’s everyday experience of where they live.
Working with local leaders, we will create a genuine plan to rebuild Britain, not just replicating high street strategies that have gone before, ensuring communities are supported to drive through solutions, and deliver growth in every postcode.
As part of the UK Government’s commitment to empowering local communities by spreading power throughout the country, the UK Government has released £52.1 million from the £140 million Local Growth Fund.
Through Local Growth Funds, funding is being handed straight to local decision-makers. Regional leaders have been empowered to design tailored plans that build infrastructure communities need most, delivering skilled jobs, and boosting living standards.
Our Local Growth fund will drive economic prosperity for communities that need it most in Edinburgh and South East Scotland, Glasgow and Tay City regions, Ayrshire and Forth Valley.
Workers, apprentices, businesses and communities across Scotland are to benefit as the UK Government releases the first £52.1 million from the Local Growth Fund after green-lighting five regions’ three-year investment plans for the £140 million initiative.
The locally delivered fund targets Scotland’s Regional Partnerships that contain the areas with the lowest Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per capita.
By trusting local knowledge over top-down directives, regional leaders have been empowered to design tailored plans that build physical infrastructure, establish high-growth commercial spaces, and close vital skills gaps.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “The UK Government is committed to empowering local communities by spreading power throughout the country. These funds will support local leaders throughout Scotland to create skilled jobs, help start up businesses and revive our local high streets.
“After months of close working directly with regional partners across Scotland, the UK Government is now releasing £52.1 million directly to regional leaders who know their communities best so delivery can begin.”
This funding targets the Scottish Regional Partnerships that contain the communities that need it most – areas like West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Dundee, Clackmannanshire and Fife – which have lower GDHI than other parts of Scotland.
The £140 million package is allocated proportionally by population across five Scottish regions.
Year 1 allocations, released now to enable delivery to begin, are as follows:
Glasgow City Region: total 3 year allocation of £60.9 million, with £22,684,596 now released.
The region will deliver business support, skills and employability programmes, and capital investment supporting the creation of high-growth commercial business space, as well as regional infrastructure projects for housing supply, land use, and town centre regeneration.
Edinburgh & South East Scotland: total allocation of £37.8 million, with £14,095,909 now released.
The region will deliver regional skills and employability programmes and capital investment in establishing flagship Housing and Net Zero Accelerator Hubs (HaNZAH) to train workers in green construction and retrofit technology, alongside a new Regional Intelligence Hub to inform regional economic planning, following the model of the Glasgow City Region.
Tay Cities Region: total allocation of £19.5 million, with £7,256,931 now released.
The region will deliver skills and workforce development programmes in priority sectors such as tourism, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, and agriculture and food, alongside capital investment in new industrial infrastructure, including new small-scale innovation spaces, and business grants.
Ayrshire: total allocation of £11.8 million, with £4,400,298 now released.
The region will launch a new Shared Economic Development Service and Regional Intelligence Hub, following the model of the Glasgow City Region, alongside regional recruitment incentives, employability hubs, business start-up support structures, and accelerator grants.
Forth Valley: total allocation of £9.8 million, with £3,665,499 now released.
The region will deliver skills and employability services and specialist support for growth businesses, establish new Regional Partnership and Programme Management functions, and unlock vacant or stalled housing sites through the Forth Valley Housing Enablement Fund.
Funding is being delivered directly to Regional Partnerships to enable strategic decision-making and maximum growth impact. Regional Partnerships are collaborations between local government, the private sector, education and skills providers, enterprise and skills agencies and the third sector to deliver economic prosperity across Scotland’s regions.
Wider UK Government investment in Scotland
The UK Government is investing more than £2.3 billion over 10 years in dozens of important local and regional projects the length and breadth of Scotland, bringing much-needed economic and community renewal. These include:
· £140m Local Growth Fund
· £280m Pride in Place Programme (Phase 2)
· £12m Pride in Place Impact Fund
· £43m Growth Mission Fund
· £200m support for ten Scottish towns (Pride in Place Phase 1)
· £320m for the Glasgow City Region and North East Scotland Investment Zones
· £52m for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and Forth Green Freeports
· £81m for Community Regeneration Partnerships in Dundee, Scottish Borders, Argyll & Bute, and Na h-Eileanan Siar
· £188m to complete Levelling Up Fund projects
· £76m in UK Shared Prosperity Fund transition funding for 2025/26
· £60m innovation funding for Glasgow City Region (across the Innovation Accelerator 2025/26 and new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund)
· £20m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund for Tay Cities creative tech sector.
· £17.3m for Energy Transition Zone
· £5m for Community Ownership Fund projects
· £16m for Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities over 2025 and 2026.
· £50m Defence Growth Deal
· £2.6m for V&A in Dundee
· £752m to deliver Scotland’s 12 City Region and Growth Deals over 2025/26 – 2034/35
One month after making his first instruction as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has announced the next steps in his national drive to end rough sleeping by announcing immediate action to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, backed by increased funding of £442 million.
Everyone sleeping rough is to be offered a route off the streets this winter if they need it, the first major milestone in the Prime Minister’s commitment to end rough sleeping
Under a boosted £442 million package, areas with the greatest need will receive the largest share of support, to get people out of the cold this winter and give people facing long-term homelessness a settled home and the support to keep it
In a drive to bring everyone together to play their part, the Prime Minister is announcing a first of its kind national summit on tackling rough sleeping to take place in the Autumn.
One month after making his first instruction as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham today (Wednesday 19 August) has announced the next steps in his national drive to end rough sleeping by announcing immediate action to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, backed by increased funding of £442 million.
New accommodation and support will be rolled out across England this winter, learning from innovative approaches put into place during the pandemic.
Alongside emergency accommodation to end the need for rough sleeping, the programme, fully funded within MHCLG budgets, will offer practical help with housing, health and other needs, helping people build a more stable future.
In addition, the Prime Minister has announced he will host a first of its kind national summit in the Autumn to bring together leaders from across society – from business, finance, charities, health, faith communities and more – to ask what role each of them can play in ending rough sleeping.
The new commitment to offer everyone a route off the streets this Christmas, along with boosted funding and a landmark summit, reflect the Prime Minister’s approach of bringing everyone together in a national drive to step up and play their part in ending rough sleeping – with everyone pulling in the same direction at a local level to make real change backed by funding at a national level.
The plans will not only change the lives of those being given somewhere to sleep and a foundation to rebuild their lives but have huge benefits for the whole country, as research from Crisis suggests preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year could save taxpayers around £370 million.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “No-one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station. But we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.
“I won’t accept it. That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping. And it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas.
“We did it in the pandemic. We can do it again. But it needs all of us. Government will put the money in. But I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.
“Let’s get people out the cold. And let’s bring back hope.”
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “When the Prime Minister pledged to end rough sleeping, we said we’d move urgently from words to action. Today we’re delivering on that promise.
“This funding will help thousands of people leave the streets behind, move into secure homes and get the support they need to rebuild their lives.
“Working alongside councils, mayors and charities, we’re backing local areas to tackle rough sleeping at its roots, giving people the security, dignity and opportunity they deserve, and restoring hope to those who have been let down for far too long.”
The government is also confirming project allocations for this programme, which includes the investment into long term accommodation announced in July.
As well as off the street provision, the funding will help local areas deliver more than 1,000 settled homes over the next three years, alongside intensive wraparound support to help people rebuild their lives.
Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of support, with communities all across England getting support to address rough sleeping in their area. Working alongside councils, Mayors will play a leading role in driving local action to end rough sleeping and making the decisions that are right for their communities to deliver help where it is needed most.
Alongside funding allocations, the Government is publishing guidance to help local areas mobilise quickly and deliver a consistent route off the street offer this winter. The guidance will make clear the need to ensure adequate and accessible provision for women experiencing rough sleeping, recognising that women are often underrepresented in official statistics and may be at greater risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Guidance encourages local areas to consider single sex accommodation with specialist, intensive and trauma informed support, for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. This will support the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years.
Charities, faith groups and community organisations are at the heart of efforts to end homelessness. That is why, in addition to holding a first of its kind national summit bringing together leaders across society with a role to play, £8.4 million of the new funding is going specifically to the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund.
This takes total funding allocations announced today for 100 different projects to £47 million over three years, helping small and medium-sized organisations provide life-changing support to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
Together, these measures form the foundation of cross-government work to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity, combining immediate action this winter with lasting solutions to help people rebuild their lives for good.
CHARITIES Crisis Scotland and Homeless Network Scotland made the following statement last month responding to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to end rough sleeping:
“The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to end rough sleeping, backed by new investment, is a positive step. The additional funding that will come to Scotland through Barnett consequentials provides an important opportunity to strengthen efforts to end rough sleeping in Scotland and support more people into safe, secure homes.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government to use this extra funding to expand Housing First and ensure more people experiencing the most severe and complex forms of homelessness can access the housing and support they need.
“Housing First is one of the most effective and innovative policy interventions of recent times. It provides people with a permanent home alongside flexible, person-centred support. The evidence is clear that this approach works, providing the stability and support required so they can leave homelessness for good and rebuild their lives.
“Scotland has long been recognised as a leader in progressive approaches to ending homelessness. But leadership is measured by delivery. Through the Ending Homelessness Together action plan, the Scottish Government committed to making Housing First the default option for people with multiple and complex needs. Yet access remains far below the level required, with current provision estimated to meet just nine percent of demand.
“With rough sleeping continuing to rise, this funding is a chance to turn ambition into action. Expanding Housing First would ensure Scotland continues to lead the way in ending homelessness and delivering on the ambition to end all forms of homelessness.”
Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, Interim Director at Shelter Scotland said:“Andy Burnham is right to make homelessness his day one priority.
“Rough sleeping in Scotland more than doubled between 2021 and 2025. But it would be wrong to suggest that getting people off the streets is enough.
“Rough sleeping happens because councils don’t have enough homes or hotel rooms even to provide basic emergency accommodation. It is a symptom of a political failure at Westminster and Holyrood that prefers sticking plasters to long term solutions.
“If Andy Burnham is serious then he should look again at how the UK Government creates homelessness by cutting local housing allowance – making it impossible for people when their wages don’t keep up with rents.
“He should look again at the asylum system that forces people fleeing persecution into homelessness by evicting them from accommodation when they are granted leave to remain.
“He should remove the so-called bedroom tax which the Scottish Government spends millions of pounds every year to effectively eradicate in Scotland. Money that would be better spent on homelessness prevention and local services.
“And most importantly he should invest in a new generation of social housing, including increasing capital investment in Scotland so that councils and housing associations can build at scale.”
Thousands of quality homes to be built closer to stations, cutting commute times and helping families live closer to work, school and transport
Thousands of new homes will be built around England’s train, tram and underground stations under new planning rules introduced today (Monday 17 August), helping families to live closer to work, schools and transport.
The ‘common-sense’ changes will fast-track quality homes in well-connected areas, making better use of underdeveloped land around stations while creating jobs, unlocking investment, driving growth and connecting communities. This builds on the priorities set out by the government to ensure that planning decisions give proper consideration to the proximity of public transport links.
Under the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, there will be a default ‘yes’ for homes within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations, alongside new minimum expectations for how much housing should be built in these areas. It will also prevent excessive gold-plating where there are clear national standards already in place.
It comes as the government passes the quarter-way mark towards its stretching target of 1.5 million homes and goes further to get developments that meet clear standards moving quickly from plans on paper to spades in the ground.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: “A safe, secure home is the foundation of opportunity, but too many people are being priced out of the communities where they want to live and work.
“By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities.
“That’s how we’ll tackle the housing crisis and raise living standards for people in every corner of the country.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said: “Making it easier for people to buy their own home is about more than a house. It is about security and families feeling they have a place they can truly call their own.
“We want to drive growth in every postcode and help more working people into home ownership. A secure home is the heart of all our lives, helping people put down roots, plan for the future and build a good life for themselves and their families. This is about creating opportunity, prosperity and stronger communities across the country.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Earlier this year, we published Better Connected: A Strategy for Integrated Transport. The steps announced today act on a key commitment we made as part of that Strategy, to support densification of development around well-connected stations to create vibrant, sustainable and well-connected homes and places.
“The changes being announced today turn long-held ambitions into reality for our communities. Densification, combined with high-quality walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport, will support healthier lifestyles, improve access to jobs and services, and protect important public transport services.”
Pubs and music venues are the lifeblood of communities, local jobs and high streets – and the changes we are making will protect them from being lost without good reason.
The changes will also make it easier for councils to approve developments that create jobs, unlock investment, and deliver the shops, leisure facilities, clean energy and food production local areas need.
They build on measures announced last week to back farmers and rural businesses, including making it easier to deliver reservoirs, greenhouses, polytunnels and farm shops.
The government is also cutting unnecessary bureaucracy by reducing blanket consultation requirements that have slowed planning decisions.
Councils will no longer need sign-off from public bodies where specialist advice is not needed, while expert input will be focused on the cases where it adds most value. Sport England will continue to advise on significant cases, and the Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust will still be notified of relevant applications so they can play an important role in the planning process.
Together, these reforms are part of the government’s wider overhaul of the planning system – tackling the housing crisis, unlocking investment and driving good growth in every postcode.
The Prime Minister has launched ‘the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation’, giving England’s communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and public services in their area
Biggest transfer of power, funding and responsibility from Westminster in a generation
Mayors to keep a share of income tax and business rates revenues so communities directly benefit when their economy grows, with new powers for communities still on the road to devolution
Taking a tried and tested approach nationwide – delivering better transport, more homes and skills training matched to local jobs
The Prime Minister yesterday launched ‘the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation’, giving communities greater control over the decisions that shape jobs, transport, housing and public services in their area.
As part of the largest package of financial powers ever offered to English mayors, mayors will receive a share of income tax revenues for the first time.
This means when places create jobs and grow their economies, they will now keep more of the rewards – giving local leaders new powers to invest in what matters most locally.
The government wants every community to benefit from stronger local decision-making. Areas without a mayor will still be supported to establish strategic authorities and gain greater control over local priorities.
In his second week in office, the Prime Minister told his Cabinet that it is time to launch a new era of devolution – taking power and decision-making out of SW1 and putting it closer to people’s lives.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “I said we’d take power out of Westminster and carry it into every postcode in the country. Today, we make good on that promise.
“Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community. Soon, every local leader will have the power and resources to improve public transport, build homes and create jobs.
“I know what it’s like to be ignored by politicians in Westminster. I’m not going to make that same mistake now I’m PM.
“The whole of government will now pull together behind the people and places that desperately need our support. This is how we’ll bring back hope and bring power home to you.”
The plans will end the Whitehall-first culture that has held back local areas for decades, forcing departments to justify why powers should stay in Westminster rather than be handed to local leaders.
By shifting power, funding and decision-making closer to people, the changes will give every part of the country the tools to create strong local economies, improve public services and shape its own future.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said: “The people who best understand what skills employers want, what transport an area needs and where investment can make the biggest difference are those who live there.
“For the first time we’re giving Mayors a share of income tax so communities directly benefit when their economy grows – passing power out of Westminster and driving growth in every postcode.
“This is the way we start to build new hope and advance the working people of this country.”
From next spring, mayors will begin retaining a greater share of locally generated revenues, starting with business rates. Further details on this and on income tax retention will be set out in a roadmap at the Budget and will be underpinned by the government’s firm commitment to fiscal discipline.
Over time, local areas will move away from dependence on Whitehall grants and towards funding that rewards local growth.
The ambition is to extend the benefits of devolution across the whole UK, working with devolved governments and local leaders to give communities more control over their future.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: “This is the first step in our plan to rewire this country and build a better future, where power is no longer hoarded in Westminster but is put back in the hands of local people – where it belongs.
“Our devolution revolution is about bringing an end to the begging-bowl culture of the past, and instead making sure our local leaders have the tools they need to drive the change that communities have been crying out for.
“We need every region to be firing on all cylinders if we want good growth in every postcode, and we will do everything in our power to make that a reality.”
The reforms will be driven by a strengthened No10 North operation, working with mayors, local leaders and other partners to remove barriers to growth, accelerate delivery and ensure government is better connected to communities across the country.
Local leaders will gain greater control over the services that shape people’s lives, including housing, transport, skills, employment support and public services.
This includes powers to:
Bring rail and bus services under greater local control, helping introduce integrated ticketing and more reliable services.
Build more homes where they’re needed and unlock stalled development sites by giving local leaders stronger planning and regeneration powers and more devolved funding.
Give more control over large local transport schemes, trams and metros to Mayors by removing and streamlining Whitehall.
Give mayors control over 16-19 funding and employment support, so young people can train for the jobs local employers need and people out of work can get tailored support back into employment.
Back local industries and innovative businesses, and attract investment, creating more well-paid jobs.
Where power is devolved, Whitehall resource will follow, giving devolved leaders the resources they need to drive change closer to home
Reforms will remove barriers that prevent locally led transport projects from going ahead, handing over new planning powers for mayors and give local areas greater flexibility over how funding is spent.
Under a new “local first” principle, ministers will be expected to justify why powers should remain in Whitehall rather than being devolved.
The United Kingdom has invested less in its future than any other G7 country over the past three decades. Giving local leaders greater control over funding and investment decisions will help unlock opportunities that have too often been overlooked by a Whitehall-led approach.
The Prime Minister believes the country’s towns, cities and communities can drive far more growth and opportunity if they are given the tools to do so.
Where local leaders have been trusted with greater responsibility, they have already delivered results:
In West Yorkshire, a Housing Investment Fund of up to £334 million is helping unlock land for development and bring forward stalled sites, supporting the delivery of thousands of new homes.
In the Liverpool City Region, local leaders are transforming transport through the rollout of Tap and Go ticketing on Merseyrail, bringing the bus network into local control later this year and taking rail services back into public ownership by 2028.
In the North East, 65,000 residents have been supported to gain qualifications, opening up new employment opportunities in sectors including construction and childcare.
The UK cannot rely on success in a small number of places alone. By giving more communities the tools to succeed, these reforms will help spread opportunity more widely, raise living standards and ensure more people feel the benefits of economic success in their everyday lives.
As powers move out of Westminster, the Civil Service will become smaller and more strategic, focusing on the responsibilities that are best exercised at a national level.
Visiting a care home today [Wednesday 29th July], the Prime Minister will say he is making the choice to fix the broken social care system by finding common ground across party lines to tackle the big issues.
He will draw a line under decades of decline and a refusal to tackle these problems head on, calling on all political parties to focus on solving problems and find solutions together.
He will reiterate the need for a new kind of politics that puts differences aside in order to come together and face up to the challenges that Westminster has left unaddressed for too long.
Delivering on that pledge, he has invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, to meet with him today to kickstart this work and discuss how to drive urgent reform on social care.
Speaking ahead of his speech, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring. Nowhere is that more urgent than social care.
“For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated.
“Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.
“It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain.
“This comes down to a choice. We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.
“This is about bringing back hope that we can finally fix the difficult issues that have been ignored for too long, and making Britain believe again. That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it.”
At the speech he will be joined by the Health and Social Care Secretary and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care which will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service.
She will also launch the Big Conversation on Care today, which will give the public their chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England so that it is designed for the people it is there to serve.
It will be open to everyone through a new online platform, starting off the conversation by asking people about the values and principles we should all expect from a care system.
Baroness Casey of Blackstock said: “For too long, we have been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, another review, and then retreat, while the people who need care, and their families, bear the brunt.
“Fixing adult social care is about far more than money. People are already paying for failure through council tax, pressure on the NHS, their savings, giving up work, and the forced sale of their homes.
“The choice is whether we keep putting money into a system that is unfair, unpredictable and broken, or have an honest conversation about how to build something better.
“That is why we need a public conversation on care that tackles the tough questions. It’s only by facing up to this problem together that we can fix social care once and for all.”
Andy Burnham yesterday became the first Prime Minister to work from No10 North, declaring ‘the days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over’
Burnham throws open the doors to No10 North, marking a new era of power flowing out of Whitehall and into every postcode
PM revives the National Economic Council in Manchester, bringing ministers and regional mayors around the table to drive devolution from week one
Comes as PM gives families and business owners breathing space with VAT off electricity bills, £2 bus fare cap restored, and a 20% business rates cut for pubs, clubs and music venues
Andy Burnham yesterday became the first Prime Minister to work from No10 North as he declared the days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over.
Operating from Heron House in Manchester’s city centre, No10 North will be the government’s new situation room for growth. It brings the levers of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time.
The Prime Minister is expected to work from No10 North each week so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster. Other ministers will also work from No10 North on a regular basis, underlining this Government’s determination to do things differently.
The Prime Minister will chair the first meeting of the revived National Economic Council at No10 North today (Friday), bringing together senior ministers and regional mayors to put devolution at the centre of the Government’s mission to make Britian better.
The National Economic Council was first established in 2008 to provide a national response to an economic emergency. Its revival reflects the Prime Minister’s belief that delivering economic growth now requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action, bringing together other government departments and local leaders.
Regional mayors will be invited to sit around the table, cementing devolution at the centre of economic decision-making and backing the Prime Minister’s pledge to rewire Britain so that decisions are taken with local leaders, not just for them.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.
“No 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.
“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
Ahead of the first meeting of the National Economic Council, the Prime Minister will speak to leading Business Representative Organisations including the Federation of Small Business, CBI and the BCC to discuss how Government and business can work together to unlock growth, investment and create jobs across the country.
The NEC’s attendees will flex according to the issues under consideration, bringing together business leaders, trade unions and other partners where their expertise can help drive delivery.
Local economic growth, devolution strategy and local growth policy are being brought together so that government departments, mayors, combined authorities and business can work from a single plan rather than competing ones.
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. No10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.
“Through this department, this Government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. No.10 North is open for business.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP added: “This is a new era for devolution. Never before has a government been so serious about passing on its own power from Westminster in favour of local areas.
“No10 North sits at the heart of that plan. This is the way we signal real change – and the way we get it done.”
The meeting comes off the back of a series of interventions made to ease the cost of living and back local high streets, setting the tone for the PM’s cost-of-living government.
This week the government has announced:
The removal of VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October, saving a typical household around £45 a year.
The £2 cap on bus fares in England will kick in from January 2027.
A 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, benefiting nearly 32,000 venues and worth around £1,100 a year to a typical pub, on top of the 15% relief already in place.
SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar is set to turn his back on Holyrood and take a seat in the unelected House of Lords, according to reports last night.
Sarwar, who led Scottish Labour to a dreadful defeat in May’s Holyrood elections where the party won just 17 seats, has been tipped to become a junior business minister in Andy Burnham’s refreshed government.
There was pressure on Sarwar to step down following May’s humiliating results. but the list MSP (Sarwar didn’t win a first past the post seat but was elected through the PR top-up list system) vowed to fight on, claiming there was ‘unfinished business’.
Indeed, when asked if he would ever take up a seat in the House of Lords, Sarwar told The Herald: “No. I’m focused on being first minister of this great country.
“My only commitment, my only focus, is serving my constituents in Glasgow and serving the great people of this country, if I get the honour of being first minister.”
Last month he confirmed his determination to lead Scottish Labour for the full Holyrood term into the next elections: ‘I’m hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform’
Just a few short weeks later, however, Sarwar appears to have had a change of mind.
The voters of Glasgow won’t even have an opportunity to have their say on Sarwar’s decision when he packs his bags and scurries down to Westminster’s unelected House of Lords – the very institution he said should be abolished!
There will be no by-election as Sarwar was elected as a list MSP, so he will simply be replaced by the next person on Glasgow’s Labour’s list.
