Department for Business and Trade’s Post

Let’s hope that involvement of real world industry views and expertise is made a fundamental ingredient to the success of this new infrastructure delivery initiative… Sharper in its process, but not in its scope: the Government’s new approach to infrastructure https://lnkd.in/e6_6y4gt

What should the next UK government's first priorities be on infrastructure? We have asked the industry for their views. And soon we'll be revealing what the market would like to see from a new approach to public-private partnerships in the UK. https://lnkd.in/e-mbxirn

This essay by Ben Southwood and others is a weekend 'must read' for anyone interested in making Britain more investible and prosperous. Houses, industrial buildings, transport and energy infrastructure projects are (unecessarily) far too expensive in Britain. The essay articulates why this is the case and what ought to be done to remedy the situation. https://ukfoundations.co/

Today’s govt planning proposals show what experts have known for years : UK infrastructure a total mess . My interview with Sir John Armitt of National Infrastructure Commission and Sizewell C’s boss Julia Pyke looks at what needs to be done https://lnkd.in/eDJrGfkZ

This morning, George Mason's Gray Center published a paper I had the privilege of co-authoring with DJ Gribbin on the nationalization of transportation infrastructure. Local challenges require local solutions. Federalism, the force that has fostered our nation's durability and strengthened our communities is threatened by the national government's impulsive tendency to grasp responsibilities of a traditionally local nature. Among many other areas, the nationalization of America's infrastructure illustrates this dangerous trajectory and illuminates its hidden costs. Generating diminished quality, complex regulations, misaligned incentives, and inflation, centralizing the decision-making for America's infrastructure has not produced the anticipated results. America's infrastructure challenges are local and the best solutions will be achieved through local means.

Great to see Government support for UK infrastructure in Rachel Reeves speech yesterday, where she announced a series of transformative projects improving connectivity to support economic growth. It's great to see the commitments to vital infrastructure such as Transpennine Route Upgrade, Heathrow Expansion, new reservoirs, Lower Thames Crossing and National Wealth Fund investments and the promise of a a 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy to be published in the Spring.

WATCH: Secretary of State Ed Miliband outlines the importance of building new infrastructure to secure our energy future✅  

“Make or break” – that is how last month’s progress review from the National Infrastructure Commission described this moment for the long-term prospects for infrastructure delivery in the UK. Speaking just hours before prime minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for early July, a group of panellists gathered by EG at the UKREiiF conference in Leeds debated what the country’s leaders need to do to be sure this pivotal moment is grasped for the good. “In almost all areas of economic infrastructure, there are very big challenges ahead,” said Neale Coleman, commissioner at the National Infrastructure Commission. “That’s whether you are talking about transport, whether you are talking about the net-zero space, where commitments are needed. “The majority of the spend on economic infrastructure over the next 20 to 30 years is going to have to come from the private sector. For the private sector to make that sort of investment, it needs to be certain about plans, it needs to have stability, it needs to know decisions will be made quickly, and it needs to know when they are going to be committed to for the long term.” For West Midlands Growth Company's Laura Shoaf, CBE certainly is key for progress. She said there were great partnerships in place, but not necessarily the clarity of direction. “Without that kind of certainty it makes it difficult for all the professionals here to do their job properly,” she said. Read more from EG's panel discussion on "The complexity of developing infrastructure in the UK", delivered in partnership with West Midlands Growth Company here ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ https://lnkd.in/eJqsNW2y

👂 Listen to Shevaun Haviland talking to Nick Ferrari on LBC Radio this morning about how long-term #infrastructure projects can still have short-term impact. Then read our full response to yesterday's announcements by the Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, on the Government's growth plans. 👇 https://lnkd.in/efzRCUc9 #Chambers #wherebusinessbelongs

My take on current government rhetoric about nature as a brake on economic development. We urgently need to change the nature and substance of the debate about nature and realize its value as critical infrastructure. https://lnkd.in/ekWiNvhZ