Zarah ChoudharyChancellor Rachel Reeves has commenced work to establish a National Wealth Fund (NWF) to invest in new industries and create jobs and opportunity across the country.
With £27.8bn of funding, the National Wealth Fund aims to help drive the Government’s Plan for Change and increase growth across the country to raise living standards.
The jobs created will support the digital and clean energy sectors, including 6,500 expected to be created in the retrofit sector across the UK, with the National Wealth Fund providing a financial guarantee that will see Lloyds and Barclays deliver £1bn of funding to deliver improvements such as low carbon heating and insulation in social housing.
New figures revealed almost £1.6bn of private investment has been leveraged into projects across the UK’s clean energy and growth sectors over the past six months.
This included supporting faster broadband connections for thousands of businesses and households in Cornwall, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Cumbria.
Millions of pounds was also committed to help West Suffolk Council to decarbonise its buildings and transition its fleet to electric vehicles, alongside supporting the expansion of a successful rooftop solar scheme.
This investment model has the potential to be replicated by other local authorities and means more businesses can benefit from low cost, low carbon electricity.
The National Wealth Fund today (15th January 2025) announced a loan of £92m to support Denbighshire County Council’s crucial improvements to coastal flood defence barriers in Denbighshire, North Wales, protecting businesses and homes against the devastating impact of flooding, creating jobs and growth in the construction industry.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Growth is our national mission, and the cornerstone of our Plan for Change that will improve living standards and put more money in people’s pockets.
“And the National Wealth Fund is playing a vital part in delivering economic growth, securing over a billion of private investment since July in industries that turbocharge growth in our economy and create good quality jobs across the UK.”
To mobilise investment at pace, the NWF will expand on the UK Infrastructure Bank’s offer including additional financial instruments so it is more catalytic and will take on more risk to have a greater impact as the NWF has more capital with £27.8bn – inheriting UK Infrastructure Bank’s £22bn and having an additional £5.8bn.
It has a renewed focus to support the delivery of the wider industrial strategy and the Government’s clean energy and growth missions.
At least £5.8bn of the NWF’s capital will focus on the five sectors announced in the manifesto: green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel.
