Opinion

Industry needs new political commitment to the National Infrastructure Plan

John Hicks AECOM

It’s time to start delivering the projects in the pipeline and look beyond 2020, says AECOM’s John Hicks.

The Conservative manifesto promised to fund “the biggest investment in rail since Victorian times and the most extensive improvements to our roads since the 1970s”. Yet it barely referenced the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) – surely one of the greatest success stories of the past five years.

"My ask of the incoming government is this: build on the excellent foundation of the NIP but now focus on delivery. Encourage UK-based companies to develop the organisational structures and skills required to deliver the major infrastructure programmes of the future, both in this country and overseas."

Add to this the departure of Danny Alexander, one of the NIP’s strongest advocates, and you could start to question whether it will have the necessary prominence in the new administration. Perhaps departmental changes, the new Business Secretary Sajid Javid or, being brave, cabinet shuffles, might surprise us and add increased ownership to the NIP.

Friday’s decisive election result ended months of political uncertainty. The markets responded positively – and a stable government is of course good news for our industry. After all, a majority government is better placed to make the bold decisions required to push through the UK’s major infrastructure projects.

But with the new government relying on the private sector to both fund and deliver infrastructure, continued strong commitment to the NIP is vital for maintaining business confidence. The NIP’s most recent iterations have provided an increasingly detailed project pipeline – and this augmented transparency has been widely welcomed.

So my ask of the incoming government is this: build on the excellent foundation of the NIP but now focus on delivery. Encourage UK-based companies to develop the organisational structures and skills required to deliver the major infrastructure programmes of the future, both in this country and overseas.

The NIP’s increasingly programme-orientated approach has helped industry and investors make more informed decisions. However, for industry to develop the required capacity, it needs to see the same level of clarity around delivery that is currently applied to specifying future projects. A step forward could be for government programmes to be packaged with funding streams and clear delivery plans to ensure there is an ample supply of company expertise and skilled workers to fulfil them.

To avoid the boom-bust cycle of the past, industry needs assurance from government that the current demand will be sustained. An early commitment to extending the NIP beyond 2020 would therefore be a welcome move.

Decisive action on planning is also required to speed delivery of much-needed infrastructure and housing. Despite recent reforms, planning is still too biased towards local impact at the expense of regional benefit. In AECOM’s manifesto for the London City Region, “Big, Bold, Global, Connected – London 2065”, we calculated that the growth in the region’s population will lead to a shortfall of one million homes by 2036 unless new sites are found and building is accelerated. Given the Conservative government’s strong commitment to the Northern Powerhouse – a move we welcome – the need for the planning  system to support housing and infrastructure growth will be all the more critical in order for progress on HS2 to remain on track and for HS3’s development to gather pace.

Transformational infrastructure necessitates bold decisions and strong vision. The next five years present an opportunity for the incoming government to set in train a lasting legacy for future generations and deliver on the electoral intent. Now is the time to accelerate action.

John Hicks is UK head of government and public for AECOM