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Autumn Statement could bring roads investment above £15bn promised by Cameron

Long term thinking on roads essential - with funding to match, explains transport minister John Hayes. 

John Hayes, transport minister

Next month’s Autumn Statement by the Chancellor could reveal a boost in road investment beyond the £15bn already earmarked, according to Transport Minister John Hayes.

Addressing this week’s ACE parliamentary reception at the House of Lords, Hayes highlighted that plans were still be worked through and that as the new five year investment plans for Highways Agency were agreed, the detail was likely to show increased funding commitment.

“Governments are sometimes insufficiently cognisant of the need to think “infrastructurally” and are insufficiently strategic in the way that they conceive public policy. That frequently means piecemeal adhoc policy making matched by piecemeal adhoc funding.” John Hayes, tranport minister

“There is massive level of committed investment in schemes and the Prime Minister talked about £15bn.  But I think it will edge up to more and we will hear more about that in the Autumn statement as we put these plans together,” he told assembled guests from across infrastructure.

“Road investment has struggled from short term thinking, rapid changing in policy and funding that has been largely piecemeal. It is essential that we start to think long term about our road investment plan and match funds to that plan.”

Hayes said the forthcoming Infrastructure Bill which he will be steering through the House of Commons, will signal “a sea change in the way we see infrastructure and the way that government is involved in infrastructure”.

“Governments of all persuasions are sometimes insufficiently cognisant of the need to think “infrastructurally” and are insufficiently strategic in the way that they conceive public policy,’ he explained. “They can be responsive but that frequently means piecemeal adhoc policy making matched by piecemeal adhoc funding.”

Hayes set out his three reasons why post war infrastructural thinking by governments had been limited:

  1. The nature of democracy mean politicians want a payback for what they do – roughly within five years
  2. Governments are reluctant to bind the hands of their successors with forward commitment
  3. If you try to anticipate you run the risk of getting it wrong – it requires courage to identify long term need and plot the course towards it.

"What you need to garner investment is clarity and confidence which comes from certainty about government intentions,” he said.

“I have more visions than St Catherine – and may be Joan of Arc as well. But while vision is essential, it is meaningless unless it is backed by action. We must work in partnerships with experts to deliver.”

Hayes pointed to the Coalition’s continued support for infrastructure as a driver for the economy over the last four years and said it had been “disproportionately good at tackling the big strategic issues” and so had attracted infrastructure investment.

“Some said that coalition meant it would be very hard to get agreement across parties and that the government would be focused principally on the immediate economic needs and so wouldn’t have the consensus to do these bold courageous things,” he said. 

“But I think that we can now say that actually and interestingly the opposite is true. HS2 is an extraordinarily courageous and bold decision for a government to take – it is long term, it is strategic and immensely beneficial. This is a serious piece of long term planning. And nuclear – you don’t get much more long term thinking than that.”

If you would like to contact Antony Oliver about this, or any other story, please email antony.oliver@infrastructure-intelligence.com.