On 26 June 2013, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, set out the government's public spending plans for 2015-16 in its Spending Round 2013 (SR 2013), commonly referred to as its spending review. The Chancellor indicated that the details of infrastructure spending would be given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, on Thursday 27 June 2013.

Although the Chancellor was not able to fulfil the hopes set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2010, in terms of eliminating the structural deficit by 2015, this fact had already been clear from successive Budgets. He argued that the government had nevertheless:

The overall picture on infrastructure was that the government was committed to a total of £50 billion of investment in new projects, with a focus on capital investment in transport infrastructure. In the energy sector, the government indicated that it would progress its intended guarantees for new nuclear plants and intended to agree a strike price for electricity generated from renewables, alongside a revised tax regime for shale gas. More modest announcements, which could benefit the construction sector, included an intention to create a further 180 free schools.

Following the Chief Secretary's statement on infrastructure spending, we will publish a further legal update considering the overall impact of the SR 2013 and that statement on the construction and engineering sector.

Source: HM Treasury press release, Spending Round 2013: speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 26 June 2013.