Jane Hutt confirmed around £90m of priority capital funding for Wales to boost Welsh construction

Jane Hutt, Minister for Finance, announced the Welsh Government’s commitment to stimulating economic growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty in Wales and made clear that Welsh construction has a big role to play. In an official statement made last week the Government clarified that since publication of the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP) last May, it has committed to an additional investment package of around £1.1 billion. The £232 million package will provide a much-needed boost for economic growth and will create or protect an estimated 4,000 jobs. It builds on the £44 million package announced last May for the current financial year, in line with the priorities set out in the WIIP. The Government then confirmed additional capital investment this financial year to boost growth and jobs – allocating £91.5 million to a number of priority areas including:

• A £30 million package of housing investment including funding for affordable housing and other housing priorities for example, an alternative approach to delivering housing adaptations and land for housing schemes
  
  
• A £40 million package for education to support priority capital investment programmes across the education sector in Wales
  
  
• £11.5 million for transport schemes including improvements to the A465, the Abercynon roundabout on the A470, the A55 in North Wales and transport schemes across Wales integral to the National Transport Plan
  
  
• £5 million for Flood and Coastal Risk Management schemes in Conwy and Denbighshire and for a number of Environment Agency schemes across Wales