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财政大臣希利首份预算案将包含大规模权力下放方案以促进增长Healey’s first budget to include big devolution package to boost growth

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伯纳姆表示,希利的预算案旨在“将权力从威斯敏斯特转移到最了解自己社区的人手中”。 摄影:Christopher Thomond/The GuardianBurnham said Healey’s budget was about ‘shifting power out of Westminster and into the hands of the people who know their communities best’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

安迪·伯纳姆承诺,在下周预算案中将推出一项新的下放支出权力的举措,届时英格兰的地方领导人将不再需要“拿着帽子去威斯敏斯特伸手要钱”。

Andy Burnham has promised that local leaders in England will no longer have to come "cap in hand to Westminster" ahead of a fresh drive to devolve spending power in next week's budget.

财政大臣约翰·希利将在周三的声明中公布计划,设立一项新的 15 亿英镑借贷机制,将在未来两年与各地市长共同制定。

In his statement on Wednesday, the chancellor, John Healey will include plans for a new £1.5bn borrowing facility, to be drawn up in collaboration with mayors over the next two years.

区域市长长期以来一直抱怨,他们受限于有限的借贷权力——这与美国和一些欧洲国家的地方当局形成鲜明对比,后者通常会发行自己的债券。

Regional mayors have long complained that they are constrained by their limited borrowing power – in contrast to local authorities in the US and some European countries, which commonly issue their own bonds.

该借贷计划将成为一项旨在促进区域经济增长的大规模下放权力方案的一部分。该方案还将包括明年拨付首批 2.85 亿英镑“良性增长”资金,由地方领导人根据优先事项支出——可能用于住房、交通连接或商业街振兴。

The borrowing plan will form part of a big devolution package aimed at boosting regional economic growth. This will also include the allocation of an initial £285m "good growth" funding next year, to be spent on local leaders' priorities – which could include housing, transport links or high street regeneration.

鉴于财政部担心部分地方当局是否具备管理日益庞大预算的能力,希利还将宣布提供 1.5 亿英镑支持,帮助它们扩大规模、建立专业能力。

Amid fears in the Treasury about whether some local authorities have the capacity to administer increasingly large budgets, Healey will also announce £150m of support to help them scale up and build expertise.

伯纳姆对该计划表示欢迎,称这意味着地方领导人将不再需要为每个单独项目跑到财政部寻求批准。“我宣告地方领导人‘拿着帽子去威斯敏斯特伸手要钱’的时代结束了。那不是治国之道。我就任首相时曾表示,如果一项决策能在更贴近基层的地方做出,就应该在那里做出。

Hailing the plans, Burnham said they would mean local leaders would no longer need to come to the Treasury for approval for each individual project. "I'm calling time on local leaders going cap in hand to Westminster. That is no way to run a country. When I became prime minister, I said that if a decision can be made closer to home, it should be.

“今天我们将这一承诺付诸实践,将权力从威斯敏斯特下放到最了解自己社区的人手中。”这 2.85 亿英镑“良性增长”资金旨在为地方当局提供过渡性支持,直到 2028 年新制度生效,届时部分所得税收入将直接划拨给其辖区,以提供更长期的财力保障——这一构想最早由希利的前任雷切尔·里夫斯在今年年初提出。

"Today we're putting that into practice, shifting power out of Westminster and into the hands of the people who know their communities best." The £285m in "good growth" funding is intended to tide local authorities over until a new system comes into force in 2028 whereby some income tax revenue will be handed directly to their areas to give them longer-term security – an idea first mooted by Healey's predecessor, Rachel Reeves earlier this year.

更多关于如何运作的细节将在预算案中公布。预计地方领导人将被允许保留部分因当地经济增强而产生的额外收入,这将激励他们支持促增长政策。

More details of how this will work will be announced at the budget. Local leaders are expected to be allowed to keep some of the additional revenues created by a stronger local economy, giving them an incentive to back pro-growth policies.

基尔·斯塔默麾下的财政大臣雷切尔·里夫斯首次提出了“良性增长”基金的构想。 摄影:Toby Melville/ReutersRachel Reeves, the chancellor under Keir Starmer, first mooted the idea of a ‘good growth’ fund. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

英国的税收和支出比许多其他主要经济体更加集中,伯纳姆作为大曼彻斯特市长亲身体验了这些制约。

Tax and spending in the UK is more centralised than in many other leading economies, and Burnham experienced the constraints first-hand as mayor of Greater Manchester.

希利表示:“市长和地方领导人清楚他们的社区需要什么来实现增长,这就是为什么我们要给他们更多资金、更多权力和更多能力,以推动项目落地、建设住房,并为他们的地区做出正确决策。” 该方案是与“唐宁街10号北方办公室”合作制定的,后者一直在与地方领导人举行每周“形势分析会”,询问他们促进经济增长面临的障碍。

Healey said: "Mayors and local leaders know what their communities need to grow, which is why we are giving them more money, more power and more capacity to get projects moving, build homes and make the right decisions for their areas." The package has been drawn up in collaboration with No 10 North, which has been holding a weekly "situation room" meeting with local leaders, to ask them about the barriers to promoting economic growth.

这导致了本周的一项宣布,财政部称之为“绿皮书”,该书提供关于纳税人应资助哪些项目的指导。根据新规则,可以结合以促进增长的项目——例如住房计划和交通计划——可以一并予以考虑。

This resulted in an announcement this week that the Treasury has called the "green book" which gives guidanceon which projects taxpayers should fund. Under the new rules, projects that can be combined to boost growth – a housing and a transport scheme, for example – can be considered together.

一份关于“重塑国家机器”的政府白皮书将在预算案后发布,将详细阐述公务员体系将如何重塑,因为更多权力将从白厅下放。

A government white paper on "rewiring the state ", due to be published after the budget, will set out more details of how the civil service will be reshaped, as more powers are passed down from Whitehall.

滞留在霍尔木兹海峡附近的油轮——中东战争推高了英国家庭的账单。 摄影:Barry Iverson/AlamyOil tankers stranded near the strait of Hormuz – the war in the Middle East has driven up bills for UK households. Photograph: Barry Iverson/Alamy

除了下放权力计划,希利的首份预算案预计还将包括对因能源成本上涨而受冲击的贫困家庭的支持;以及适度的增税,包括对银行征税。这位财政大臣多次表示,他希望为因中东战争推高账单而挣扎的家庭和企业提供“喘息空间”。这些更高的成本也推高了政府借贷的利率,使希利更难平衡账目。

Alongside the devolution plans, Healey's first budget is expected to include support for poorer households hit by rising energy costs; and modest tax rises, including on banks. The chancellor has repeatedly said he wants to offer a "breathing space" to households and businesses that have struggled as the war in the Middle East has driven up bills. These higher costs have also pushed up the interest rates on government borrowing, making it harder for Healey to balance the books.

他将阐述如何计划为基尔·斯塔默执政末期宣布的四年国防投资计划提供全额资金。

He will set out how he plans to fully fund the four-year defence investment plan announced in the dying days of Keir Starmer's premiership.

不过,预计希利不会说明英国何时承诺将国内生产总值(GDP)的3%用于国防开支——这一问题曾是他辞去斯塔默内阁职务的核心原因。这项承诺很可能推迟到明年某个时候进行的支出审查中才会确定。

However, Healey is not expected to say when the UK will commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence – an issue that was central to his resignation from Starmer's cabinet. This is likely to be delayed until a spending review due at some point next year.

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