UK infrastructure delivery must speed up
With the UK ranked 27th in the world for the quality of its infrastructure, nearly all (96%) of the 727 businesses surveyed in the 2017 Confederation of British Industry/AECOM Infrastructure Survey* see infrastructure as important or critical to the government’s agenda. Richard Robinson introduces the latest finding in this national survey
More needs to be done to raise confidence and up the pace in which infrastructure is delivered. Now is the time to provide clarity around infrastructure investment and accelerate action.
Transformational infrastructure necessitates bold decisions and a strong vision. The next five years present a huge opportunity for the government to establish a lasting legacy for future generations. In my opinion, we are entering a golden age for infrastructure that is on a Victorian scale.
But for this prediction to become a reality, the focus must remain on progressing the UK’s ambitious infrastructure pipeline. Despite the backdrop of Brexit and political uncertainty, we have certainly seen some welcome progress this year, but it is essential that we don’t rest on our laurels.
World-class innovative projects
Schemes such as the expansion of Heathrow Airport, Crossrail 2 and the Northern Powerhouse programme are world-class projects that provide bright beacons of British success and innovation and are vital to the country’s ability to compete on a global stage. However, if we are to grasp the opportunity to make major progress on infrastructure, the issue must remain high on the government’s agenda, underpinning a modern industrial strategy.
For the £500bn pipeline of infrastructure projects to come to fruition, we need to attract and retain people with the right skills to deliver them. And while many may see the skills shortage as a crisis, I actually see it as presenting a very real opportunity, rather than a threat. It can be argued that it is positive reflection on the growth of the industry which, if managed correctly, will bring exciting new talent to deliver the multitude of schemes. That’s why it’s so important that the government, industry and schools work together to successfully tap into the engineers of the future.
Five key findings
- Delivery of the current road investment strategy is the top transport priority for the government, with 92% of firms citing this as critical or important, followed closely by delivering improvements to local road networks (88%) and the delivery of the current rail enhancement programme, CP5 (88%)
- Regarding aviation priorities for a new relationship with the EU, 92% of businesses thought agreements between the EU and third party countries was a critical or important issue to be addressed, ahead of access to skills and talent from the EU (90%)
- Setting out a post-2020 power sector investment framework is the top energy priority for the government, with 98% of firms citing this as critical or important, followed by supporting greater innovation (90%)
- After access to skills and talent from the EU (91%), the top Brexit energy priorities are the UK’s future vis-à-vis the internal energy market (86% – rising to 92% for those who were energy providers), regulatory equivalence (76%), and access to funding, such as the European Investment Bank (75%)
- Improving the speed and reliability of broadband connections is the top digital priority for the government, with 98% of firms citing this as critical or important. This is matched by the need to strengthen cyber resilience (98%) – however, over two thirds of firms (68%) are not (or not at all) confident in the UK’s current cyber security strategy
Click here to download the survey
