New growth plan urged

The Work Foundation said £4.5bn should be spent on science, technology, innovation and regional growth. In a submission ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement, the research group called for a new plan for growth, including an extra £1bn for the regions and £300m for science and technology schemes.

Ian Brinkley, director of the Work Foundation, said: “We believe the Government has scope to relax the pace of deficit reduction in the short term in order to directly fund new investment and stimulate growth.

“While there are legitimate concerns about the impact this may have on the markets, there is less likely to be an adverse reaction if the stimulus is clearly focused on creating assets and underpinning sustainable growth.”