Government Pledge To Create 37,000 New Jobs

Coalition chiefs are pledging to create 37,000 new jobs - as Prime Minister David Cameron says he is on an "all-out mission" to get the economy going.

Nearly a billion pounds of public money will go on projects around the country including two new power stations.

And the PM says he has agreed plans for two power plants in the north of England - expected to involve around 1,000 construction jobs.

He has also welcomed news BT will complete its roll-out of superfast broadband by 2014 - generating work for 500 more engineers.

The developments are among a series of big infrastructure plans expected to be given the go-ahead next week.

It will coincide with the first estimate of economic growth between July and August which is expected to be just 0.3%.

The PM's efforts to accelerate a number of both privately and publicly funded infrastructure projects follows claims the coalition is too focused on cutbacks.

The schemes are also in response to criticism suggesting the government was not trying hard enough to create jobs.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "In America, they are debating what more needs to be done to get the economy growing to get jobs created.

"Here in Britain we aren't having that debate. The Government is ploughing on doggedly, saying whatever happens: We're right and we won't change course.

"We'll see the evidence (next) week that it's not working. Our economy is not growing and unemployment is rising."

Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he wanted to speed up planning permission for 40 big infrastructure projects to help stimulate the economy.

His list of projects for "new special priority status" included road and rail projects, improvements in the efficiency of the national grid and expansion of the high speed broadband network.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Sky News: "We want to have at least 90% of the country with a 24mb connection because people's need for broadband is growing all the time.

"We want to see shovels out on the roads. We want to see telegraph poles going up and fibre-optic cable being strung into remote communities.

"But while infrastructure has a role, confidence that the Government is managing our national finances is also very, very important.

"The problem in the eurozone is because people don't have that confidence."