4.7 National Government Policy Flashcards
What can the government do to influence regeneration?
- the central government controls budgeting and infrastructure spending, and they try to provide funding to areas that need to become economically active so that all areas of the country provide money interest of being a drain or a leak of government funding
- the government control policy like migration and the deregulation of capital markets including privatisation and renationalisation
How does the governments infrastructure spending influence regeneration? Look at HS2 pros and cons
- infrastructure spending is £2595 per person in London but £5 in the north east to try and reduce this inequality the government have developed plans for High Speed rail 2 (HS2)
PROS
- it would enable 2/3 of the population to access London in under 2 hours
- connect 18 cities in the north to the south
- 16000 jobs provided for the stretch of rail from London to Birmingham
- helps small businesses in the north expand
CONS
- majority of rail will be surrounded by a 20m high viaduct
- forced relocation of many people and people near the tracks cannot find anyone to sell their homes to
- it will cost £60-100 billion which could be better spent somewhere else
- must pass through the Chilterns with a fragile ecosystem and poor chalk foundations it is a SSSI (sight of special scientific interest)
- concerns about noise as there could be as many as 18 trains in either direction per hour
- it will encourage commuting from Birmingham to London meaning less TNC investment will be seen in the north as economic prosperity will not be necessary as people can just commute to London for work
How does the governments political policies promote regeneration? Look at deregulation of capital markets pros and cons
- in 1979 Margaret thatcher began deregulating the capital markets to encourage overseas investment and infrastructure investment. She also privatised many of the public services
- decreasing tax and removing certain laws so that foreign companies can more easily locate here or but into existing uk companies
PROS
-large investment is seen from overseas meaning the government can focus its funds on the public services. For example the Chinese sovereign wealth fund invested into Hinckley C point nuclear power plant
CONS
- uk common law legal system encourages companies to trade in London because of the low import and export taxes here. London has lawyers, accountants and consultants of every description and language turning over £95 billion a year however:
-financial regulation has been made tighter because companies were evading tax e.g. Costa coffee
-banks can no longer do risky businesses
Because of this some banks, like HSBC threatened to move to Asia unless something was done, therefore the government was forced to half a proposed banking levy meaning the government had slightly lost control as an uprising amongst footloose industries could leave London with little investment. Luckily the HSBC investment helped regenerate and develop the London docklands
How does the governments political policies promote regeneration? Look at the current government stance on migrations, pros and cons
( I am writing this flash card on Sat 1st of Feb 2020 the day after Brexit has taken place)
-the conservative government have stopped the freedom of movement act within the E.U.
PROS
the government want to introduce an Australian style points based system to allow the highly skilled migrants with secured employment into the country therefore meaning everyone contributes to tax, a skilled workforce also attracts investment
CONS
-Doesn’t provide enough workers for lower skilled jobs meaning public services can be lacking staff
OPEN DOOR MIGRATION POLICIES- EU
CLOSED DOOR MIGRATION POLICIES - Australia and Japan
How do planning laws effect economic regeneration?
- if good planning laws are in place it will cause the encouragement of investors in areas of low skilled workers
- more people with fewer qualifications can find employment
- increased employment leads to more tax
- economic regeneration
How does the increased availability of affordable housing help an area experience economic regeneration?
- rapid population growth means more houses are needed
- more affordable housing means longer residency of tenants as the can own their home outright
- more engagement within the community
- their is attractive to investment
- economic regeneration
How does fracking help an area regenerate economically?
- provides more jobs
- more tax revenue
- less money spent overseas on natural gas
- more attracting to investment
- economic regeneration
How does a large projection of house building targets lead to economic regeneration?
- industry set up to access the increasing workforce
- increased employment
- increased tax payed to local area
- economic regeneration
What are the benefits and drawbacks of expanding Heathrow?
PROS
- hub city reputation is expanded to facilitate more tourists if not expanded it could miss out on business opportunities
- strategic worldwide location near London
- easy access to a frange of industries attracting inward investment, M4 corridor where 35,000+ jobs can be found
- creates £7bn for economy every year
- struggling to cope without a third runway
- HS2 could be expanded to the airport
CONS
-already successful so money could be spent on a more deprived area
-it would increase north south divide and wealth would become even more centralised in the south
-increased noise and air pollution. Difficult to reach environmental targets
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Wat are the benefits and drawbacks of expanding regional airports like Birmingham international airport?
PROS
- boosts local economy and makes it easier to access for industries making it more attractive to investment
- provides a range of jobs in the area from highly trained aeronautic professionals to low skilled airport retailers
- many businesses operate around smaller airports due to ease of access for private jets
- distribute access and investment across the country bridging the gap between the north south divide
- smaller airports are less busy so can be attractive to customers who want to avoid the fuss
- e.g. Birmingham international airport is convenient for northerners as they don’t have to travel all the way to London as the airport provides over 140 international destinations. Adding 400m to the runway will provide longer haul flights to the west coast of the USA and Middle East
CONS
- airports face over competition from larger airports like Heathrow so the benefits may not be as large as they had hoped
- increased noise and air pollution
