What’s in the UK government’s long-awaited 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy?

The UK is on the cusp of an infrastructure transformation.

Investment in infrastructure needs to rise significantly to meet the country’s social, economic, and environmental challenges.

But to attract investment – and to give the industry the certainty it needs to build skills and supply chains – the country needs a clear strategic plan.

The ICE has long called for one, and the government’s new 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy is a chance to provide it.

But does it rise to the challenge?

The strategy at a glance

The strategy sets out the government’s infrastructure priorities and spending commitments for the coming decade.

This includes spending £725bn over the next 10 years and increasing capital investment (spending on new assets) in line with inflation from 2029.

The strategy also changes the UK’s delivery system in ways that, if implemented well, will make the country a better home for investors and developers.

An important step forward in joined-up infrastructure planning

The strategy combines planning for economic infrastructure (such as transport, energy, and water networks) and social infrastructure (such as hospitals, schools, and prisons) for the first time.

The government is particularly focused on maintenance investment and will provide £10 billion per year over the next decade for health, education, and justice estates.

This will include an additional £49 billion from 2029/30 – 2034/5 for the New Hospital Programme and other maintenance and restoration programmes.

A new digital spatial planning tool, run by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), will layer environmental, infrastructure, industrial growth and housing needs. Spatial planning will provide further evidence to support place-based infrastructure investment.

Regional spatial development strategies will set approaches to local investment. These strategies should help local authorities play their part in delivering a coherent national vision.

We can expect national spatial planning priorities in 2027 when the strategy is next reviewed.

We can also expect the release of an interactive infrastructure pipeline tool in July. This is a long called for improvement, which will provide welcome certainty for the sector.

Changes to project approvals

The strategy sets out the central role NISTA will play in improving infrastructure delivery.

NISTA will have an important part in making ‘go’ or ‘no go’ decisions for major projects as part of the government’s assurance and assessment process.

Taking forward recommendations from the Office for Value for Money, the government will also streamline its project approval approach.

It will centralise assurance via NISTA and allow major project delivery bodies to hire technical experts and manage project budgets more flexibly.

The role of NISTA

The success of the strategy will hinge on NISTA’s ability to deliver it. The new body has a big task ahead.

The government has laid out six priority areas for its work.

• Overseeing the implementation and review of the strategy, including future refreshes and progress reviews. NISTA will also continue periodic needs assessments, formerly conducted by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). These will now include social and economic infrastructure.
• Identifying and coordinating infrastructure needs and developing a more spatial approach to planning to maximise sustainable economic growth.
• Unblocking barriers and streamlining delivery of the government’s major projects.
• Setting standards and improving the government’s project delivery capabilities.
• Providing effective assurance for the government’s priority projects and overseeing its major project programme.
• Providing advice on the private financing of major projects.
• NISTA will also have a role in reinforcing Construction Playbook guidance.

The ICE has previously recommended that the government mandates the playbook. It’s encouraging to see the strategy’s renewed focus on embedding best practice across departments.

Clarifying the government’s position on private investment

Ahead of the strategy, the ICE had called for further clarity on the government’s approach to private infrastructure investment.

In 2023, the NIC said that infrastructure investment would have to rise to between £70 and £80 billion per year in the 2030s. Over half of this is expected to come from private investment.

The strategy, and the upcoming pipeline tool, will help the UK attract this capital.

The government has provided some clarity on its intended use of public-private-partnerships (PPPs):

• It has indicated an openness to exploring the targeted use of PPPs where revenue streams can be found, and risk appropriately allocated.
• On taxpayer-funded projects, the government will use the PPP model in very limited circumstances where it provides value for money. We can expect projects to include certain types of primary and community health infrastructure, and public estate decarbonisation projects.

This clarity is welcome, as well-designed PPPs can improve delivery and bring forward infrastructure investment to support growth.

It’s also encouraging that the government understands the importance of learning lessons from the public finance initiative (PFI) model.

But more detail will be necessary.

Decisions on the use of PPPs will be taken alongside the autumn statement later this year.

The government’s wider approach to private investment will include changes to economic regulation, and considering whether capital can be freed up from existing assets to reinvest into new projects.

In the coming months, we need to see more detail on how the government will build the capability to manage the delivery of privately financed projects, as well as communicate to the public the value of private infrastructure investment.

Resilience standards

Importantly, the strategy also flags future work on resilience.

The Cabinet Office will lead a review of existing resilience standards and identify where additional guidance is needed.

This comes alongside investment in flood defences included in the recent Spending Review.

What will make the strategy a success?

If the strategy is to provide a credible and reliable direction that attracts the investment the UK needs, it will require long-term support from across Parliament

NISTA will also need to be adequately resourced to deliver an ambitious but important set of priorities.

The ICE has previously warned that NISTA will need ‘teeth’ to provide independent advice and challenge the government on delivery.

Overall, the strategy represents an important step forward for the UK’s infrastructure system.

Its important changes will mean that delivery is more efficient and that infrastructure supply chains can better plan ahead.

The ICE looks forward to working with the government to deliver the strategy over the coming decade.