Osborne guarantees £50bn to boost UK economy

The government has outlined its plan for a £40bn loan scheme to help kick-start major infrastructure projects, with an additional £10bn earmarked to support struggling UK exporters.

UK Guarantees, as the scheme is known, will underwrite stalled infrastructure projects valued at up to £6bn. And according to George Osborne, the Chancellor, it is the government’s ability to borrow at interest rates under 2% that has allowed it to launch the schemes.

"The credibility the government has earned through tackling the deficit is already helping millions of British families and businesses through keeping down the cost of borrowing,” Osborne said in a statement.

"Now UK Guarantees will use that hard-won fiscal credibility to provide public guarantees of up to £50bn of private investment in infrastructure and exports.”

News of the scheme to boost activity in the construction sector was welcomed by the British Plastics Federation (BPF). "Any stimulus or encouragement for the construction industry is welcome. There are fears of [the sector] going backwards otherwise," said the BPF’s public and industrial affairs director, Philip Law.

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