Osborne ‘must invest in infrastructure’

The Confederation of Paper Industriessaid George Osborne, who will reveal his Spending Review for 2015/16 later today, faces a difficult dilemma, needing to both stimulate growth and reduce the deficit.

The CPIcalled for “genuine efficiency measures designed to eliminate the waste that is still apparent in the system”.

David Workman, the confederation’s director-general, told Central Lobby:

“So many high spending departments have, in effect, had their budgets ring-fenced. This is likely to lead to more severe cuts in the budgets of the departments which help to fuel growth – in particular BIS and the Department of Transport.

“We hope that a way can be found to reduce the costs for household and industrial consumers on decarbonising the economy.

“This will mean reducing the subsidies paid for renewable energy and further incentivising shale gas exploitation. Increasing gas storage capacity should also be high on the agenda.

“The Chancellor also needs to ensure that the Energy Intensive Industries are fully compensated for the costs associated with this decarbonising process.

“It is also vital that the excellent work being undertaken to encourage the take up of apprentices should not be endangered by cuts to the BIS budget.”