00:00In the next fortnight, I will be finalising my first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
00:07And the situation that we have inherited means that we face difficult choices.
00:15The first step that we must take to grow our economy is to restore fiscal and economic
00:21stability.
00:23Because balancing the books by ensuring that we do not borrow for day-to-day spending is
00:28not anti-investment.
00:29In fact, it is the only way to ensure that government and business can invest with confidence.
00:37Discipline on spending, alongside investment in capital, is absolutely essential.
00:43The investment which government makes must be sustainable, with debt falling by the end
00:48of the forecast.
00:50It must provide good value for taxpayers' money.
00:53And it must be fully transformative so that we grow our economy in the years ahead.
00:59When I became Chancellor of the Exchequer, I made my first big speech three days later
01:04about the importance of growing our economy.
01:08I set out our plans to launch a new National Wealth Fund, designed in partnership with
01:14business, through the National Wealth Taskforce, led by Mark Carney.
01:19Today, we are creating the National Wealth Fund and making it the UK's new impact investor.
01:26The National Wealth Fund will catalyse tens of billions of pounds of private investment
01:31into clean energy and our growth industries, like green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage
01:38and gigafactories.
01:41From today, we are turbocharging the UK Infrastructure Bank, which will now operate as the National
01:47Wealth Fund.
01:48It will be headquartered in Leeds, with a bigger team, more freedom and an expanded
01:54suite of financial instruments, and more economic risk capital, to ensure that the National
02:00Wealth Fund's investments can be even more catalytic.
02:04The National Wealth Fund will work with industry partners, including our Metro mayors, to identify
02:09innovative transactions and deliver new impactful investments right across our country.
02:16We will also bring forward legislation to give the National Wealth Fund a broader mandate,
02:22extending beyond infrastructure so it aligns with our new industrial strategy.
02:28The National Wealth Fund will also work alongside the UK's existing structures to better crowd
02:33in private investment.
02:36The British Business Bank deployed £3.5 billion to support over 23,000 businesses last year.
02:43But we need innovative vehicles that go further and faster.
02:48To leverage investment from new sources, like our pension funds, and to improve returns
02:53for savers and help our most exciting businesses to grow.
02:58If we want businesses here not just to start up, but to scale up, we need to unlock long-term
03:04patient capital from private investors.
03:08To do that, we cannot just rely on old methods.
03:12So today, we are setting out our plans for the British Business Bank to take a more innovative
03:17approach through a new pathfinder, British Growth Partnership.
03:23This will create a new vehicle to crowd in pension funds and other institutional investment
03:29into venture capital funds and innovative businesses.
03:33The British Business Bank is aiming to raise hundreds of millions of pounds and to make
03:38long-term investments on a fully commercial basis by the end of 2025.
03:44The government will invest alongside the private sector to crowd in funding.
03:49To ensure that the British Growth Partnership delivers on this government's objectives.
03:55To increase capital for companies.
03:58Deliver better outcomes for savers.
04:00And to boost economic growth.
04:04The decisions that lie ahead will not always be easy, but by making the right choices to
04:13grow our economy, to drive investment, we will create good jobs and new opportunities
04:21across every part of our country.
04:24That is the Britain that we are building, and that is the difference that we will make
04:28together.
04:29Thank you so much for being part of it today.
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