In his Spring Budget statement today, the chancellor Philip Hammond said £270m ($328.27m) would be allocated to "disruptive technologies," including biotechnology, robotics and driverless vehicles; £220m ($267.48m) would address congestion "pinch points" on the national road network; and £690m ($838.9m) would fund a "competition for local authorities" to tackle urban congestion and improve transport networks.

Hammond said details of this competition would shortly be announced by the transport secretary, adding: "We believe local areas understand local productivity barriers better than central government."

A further £16m ($19.45m) - also from this infrastructure pot - will be spent on 5G mobile internet technology, and £200m ($243.16m) on local projects to encourage private investment into fibre-optic broadband ­as part of the £1bn ($1.22bn) Hammond has previously pledged to develop a "world class digital infrastructure."

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