1,000 New Jobs' Created By Energy Projects

Climate Change News

1,000 New Jobs' Created By Energy Projects
30 Oct 2011

One thousand construction jobs are to be created by two major infrastructure projects that will be given the green light by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Sky News has learned.
Sky sources say the jobs will come from the construction of two new energy generation projects that will be announced on Monday.

They are among a series of big infrastructure plans expected to be given the go-ahead next week to coincide with the first estimate of economic growth between July and August which is expected to be just 0.3%.

A Downing Street source told Sky News that Prime Minister David Cameron has been looking at accelerating a number of both privately and publicly funded infrastructure projects.

This was in response to criticism that the coalition is too focused on cutbacks and not trying hard enough to create jobs.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "In America, they are debating what more needs to be done to get the economy growing to get jobs created.

"Here in Britain we aren't having that debate. The Government is ploughing on doggedly, saying whatever happens: We're right and we won't change course.

"We'll see the evidence (next) week that it's not working. Our economy is not growing and unemployment is rising."

Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he wanted to speed up planning permission for 40 big infrastructure projects to help stimulate the economy.

His list of projects for "new special priority status" included road and rail projects, improvements in the efficiency of the national grid and expansion of the high speed broadband network.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Sky News: "We want to have at least 90% of the country with a 24mb connection because people's need for broadband is growing all the time.

"We want to see shovels out on the roads. We want to see telegraph poles going up and fibre-optic cable being strung into remote communities.

"But while infrastructure has a role, confidence that the Government is managing our national finances is also very, very important.

"The problem in the eurozone is because people don't have that confidence."

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Source: Sky News