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Today, I am pleased to announce the publication of the Freeports Delivery Roadmap, a cross-Government blueprint for accelerating and amplifying the delivery of our flagship Freeports programme.
Building on recent successes for the Freeports programme – including the announcement that nearly £3 billion has already been invested in Freeports, creating over 6,000 jobs – the Roadmap sets out a range of areas in which Departments will go further in supporting Freeports to create investable sites, land investment, and build clusters and durable local economic growth. It therefore focuses on all stages of Freeport delivery, from securing investment to translating this into tangible, positive impacts for local communities.
This is on top of the recent announcement of an extension of the window to claim tax reliefs in English Freeports, from five to ten years (subject to the agreement of delivery plans with each Freeport), and a new £150 million Investment Opportunity Fund to support Investment Zones and Freeports across the UK to secure business investment opportunities.
The Government will also work with the devolved administrations to agree how the ten year window to claim reliefs can be extended to Freeports in Scotland and Wales.
In sum, the Government is backing Freeports: we are doing everything in our power to deliver these new clusters in sectors of the future, thereby creating sustainable, high-quality jobs for communities across the UK.
I will place a copy of the Freeports Delivery Roadmap in the Libraries of the House.
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This statement has also been made in the House of Lords