In a financial statement that has already had key points such as a 6.6% rise in National Living Wage revealed in leaks, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to formally unveil plans, alongside spending on education, that include: 

• global talent network to attract high-skilled workers to the UK
• grants worth £1.4bn to be given to “internationally mobile” companies to invest in UK infrastructure
• development of Dragons’ Den-style regional investors outside of London and the South-East.

The live announcement of the Budget and Spending Review will begin at 12.30pm today.

The £1.6bn that will be allocated to rolling out new T-levels for 16-19-year-olds and £550m for adult skills in England are highlights of what are expected in the Budget and Spending Review later today, the BBC reports.

Spending initiatives of interest to business that are anticipated in the spending package include: 

• Grants worth £1.4bn will be given to “internationally mobile” companies to invest in UK infrastructure, including £345m aimed at increasing resilience for future pandemics and £800m for the production of electric vehicles in North-East England and the Midlands.
• As part of the package, a talent network team will aim to attract high-skilled workers to the UK, through “innovation hotspots” initially based in San Francisco and Boston in the US and Bengaluru in India.
• £150m for the British Business Bank to encourage development of Dragons’ Den-style regional investors outside of London and the South-East
• A tax change to encourage shipping companies to the UK.

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