Chancellor George Osbourne has pledged financial backing for a number of infrastructure projects across the north and south of England.

In his eighth Budget, Mr Osbourne has granted approval for planning work to continue on major projects such as the £32 billion Crossrail 2 scheme in London and the HS3 link between Manchester and Leeds.

The Government is to release £60m to develop HS3 proposals, cutting journey times to around 30 minutes between Leeds and Manchester, with transport connections also upgraded between other Northern cities.

Development work on Crossrail 2 will also receive £80m.

Over £230m has also been set aside for road improvements in the north of England, including dualling the M62 as well as upgrading the A66 and A69.

In addition, £700m will be provided towards upgrading flood defence schemes in various areas including York, Leeds and across Cumbria.

In his speech, Mr Osbourne said: "Across Britain this Budget invests in infrastructure – from a more resilient train line in the South West, to crossings at Ipswich and Lowestoft in the East – we are making our country stronger.

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"To respond to the increasing extreme weather events our country is facing I am today proposing a further substantial increase in flood defences.

"That would not be affordable within existing budgets.

"So I am going to increase the standard rate of Insurance Premium Tax by just half a percentage point – and commit all the extra money we raise to flood defence spending.

"That's a £700 million boost to our resilience and flood defences."

Reacting to the announcements, Ed Cox, director of think tank IPPR North, said: "We welcome the 'green light' that the Chancellor has given to major transport schemes in the North of England but in truth he has only committed to further feasibility studies.

"The announcements will heighten expectations though that government will ultimately commit the fresh billions required to finally see some spades in the ground."

Paul Payne, MD of rail and construction recruitment specialist Oneway, also welcomed the announcements. However, he added more focus needed to be put on upskilling the workforce.

"The announcements made this afternoon are highly encouraging and indicate that the government is set to push for growth by investing in major infrastructure projects which could create thousands of roles across a variety of positions," he said.

"However, this is tempered optimism as both the construction and rail sectors are currently suffering from significant skills shortages and much more needs to be done to ensure we have adequate numbers of professionals ready and able to operate on these projects.

"Factors like the upcoming apprenticeship levy, which comes into play next year, are steps in the right direction, however that's a long term solution. The sector is short of talent right now and governing bodies need to look to either promote skilled trades careers more effectively or find ways of upskilling professionals to be able to operate on key projects like HS3."

(LM/JP)