Thursday 24 November 2016

London Chamber of Commerce welcomes Autumn Statement direction but calls for more specifics

New steps towards devolution for London were welcomed by London Chamber of Commerce and Industry today following the Autumn Statement.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced London will receive £3.15bn as its share of national housing budget to deliver more than 90,000 homes.

In addition the Government will devolve the adult education budget to London and employment services and more welcome news came as the Government also said it would continue to work with London to explore further devolution of powers over the coming months

Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Colin Stanbridge said: "Overall there are a lot of noises in the right direction and we welcome moves the moves towards devolution for London in terms of the £3.15bn housing fund for new homes as well as adult education and employment support services.

"The doubling of UK export finance capacity is also good news for business.

"Likewise we welcome investment in infrastructure, in faster broadband and tech research. All these are vital if we are to maintain our competitiveness as a global city and the rest of the country is to benefit from London's economic success.

"But we all know, as the Chancellor himself acknowledged, that these are uncertain times for businesses and we need further reassurance and more specifics."

In its October report, London business and Brexit: Reactions, expectations and requirements, LCCI made the recommendation to the Government it should use set-pieces in the political calendar such commit to investing or progressing strategic London infrastructure projects such as Crossrail 2, airport runways and river crossings.

Today's document also states that the Government looks forward to receiving the business case for Crossrail 2 - a response welcomed by LCCI

ENDS

Media contact
Katharine McGee
T: +44 (0)20 7203 1897
M: +44 (0)7827 241528
E: kmcgee@londonchamber.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITOR:

1. The full LCCI report London business and Brexit: Reactions, expectations and requirements is available to view or download
2. Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Colin Stanbridge, is available for further comment.
3. London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the capital's largest and most representative business organisation, with members ranging in size from multi-national companies to SMEs and sole traders