Measures to rewire the state

Communities across the country are set to benefit from growth and good jobs as new measures are announced to put spending back in service of the public.

Earlier this year, the government brought central government spending back into service of the public, with new guidance ensuring that public spending brought skills and jobs to communities across the country. 

Going further, the government has now made clear that utility companies, such as electricity, gas and water infrastructure providers, will also be expected to use their procurement to support jobs and skills in manufacturing. If companies do not follow the government’s lead, legislation will be brought in when parliamentary time allows to ensure they act.

New measures will also ensure major government spending is firmly rooted in the national interest. The National Shipbuilding Office will be given oversight of all future civil ship procurement – providing a strategic centre to support the UK shipbuilding industry through a clearer and more predictable pipeline of demand, and enabling a simpler route for ship procurement, including working with our European allies to do so. 

The Ministry of Defence will set out more detail for this in the National Shipbuilding Office’s Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Action Plan is released, which is planned for later this year.

The government has also announced a new research vessel for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, to be built in the UK.