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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

22nd March 2013

A budget for business and growth

20 March, as well as being the Spring Equinox, was budget day in the UK.

As in other European countries, the UK economy has been affected by the chill of the eurozone’s problem and the long winter of the international financial crisis.

Against this backdrop, our government has announced several new measures to stimulate recovery. More details on the HM Treasury website.

Taxation

  • Reduction in the main rate of corporation tax (currently 24%) by an additional 1% to 20% by April 2015, the joint lowest rate in the G20.
  • Simplifying the corporation tax system to a single rate.
  • Boosting innovation by increasing R & D tax credits and reducing corporation tax rate on profits from patents to 10%

Infrastructure

  • Plans to increase spending on infrastructure by £3bn a year by 2015.
  • Implement Lord Heseltine’s recommendations including the creation of a single local growth fund, to attract international investment.
  • £1.6bn to support investment in 11 key sectors through the new industrial strategies from the Department for Business.
  • Investing £5.4bn in new housing schemes to encourage buyers and increase access to mortgages, and support the UK’s construction sector.

Energy

  • To take forward two Carbon Capture Storage projects to the detailing planning and design stage. This represents the next step in the £1 billion CCS commercialisation programme.

About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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budget 2013 ccs energy growth