Opposition argues the plan is insufficient for families and businesses, while critics say its impact will be minimal.

Regulators will be engaged later in the year to prepare for the Spending Review and identify practical steps to accelerate growth.

The announcements were made in Coventry ahead of next month’s Budget, against a backdrop of leadership changes and geopolitical tensions.

A Regulating for Growth Bill introduces new sandboxing powers to safely test technologies, with potential uses in medicine, delivery robots, and autonomous maritime and defence tech.

The speech casts the Budget as a turning point focused on infrastructure, growth, and decentralizing economic power amid global instability.

Healey frames the strategy as part of empowering regions and writing a new growth chapter, with funding already committed to the initiative.

In his first major Treasury speech, the Chancellor lays out a plan to control public spending and reduce government borrowing costs, arguing the Budget will help the UK economy reach its potential and turn a corner amid global crises.

A reform package is aimed at speeding up decision-making for nationally important infrastructure by reducing delays from consultations, litigation, and administrative processes, giving ministers more decisive authority.

Additional measures include funding for AI R&D procurement, adjustments to the Green Book to weight long-term benefits, and a £150 million British Business Bank scale-up fund for the North of England.

The plan includes a clear goal to double the number of unicorn firms and to back next-generation high-growth companies by tackling regulatory barriers, improving access to capital, and securing government contracts as early customers.

Economists warn that while postcode-level growth is appealing, practical implementation may be challenging, with broader urban growth potentially easier to achieve.

Context includes prior statements from the Prime Minister on policy direction and discussions over defence spending and the GDP target for defence.