The leading engineering body says the vision set out in the National Infrastructure Plan could deliver world class infrastructure for the 21st century - enabling the UK to compete in a modern world, creating jobs and economic growth and providing the stability for the UK to grow its engineering skills and capacity. But it called on the Chancellor to “avoid complacency” and translate plans into outcomes for the nation, through a package of new measures in the Budget.
Key measures include:
- Assign a senior minister with over-arching responsibility for the Government’s performance against the promises in the Plan.
- Create a simple set of performance measures for infrastructure that are regularly and independently assessed - in the same way as crime, health and education data.
- Drive efficiency in the supply chain by further developing the two year pipeline of infrastructure projects to include more detail on projects due to start in the shorter term.
ICE also set out measures to improve the credibility of Government’s aspirations for private investment, saying it should:
- Publish an assessment of the level of funding it believes it can realistically secure from different categories of investors, such as pension funds and overseas investors.
- Publish a programme of work to be carried out to unlock these funds.
- Monitor, assess and regularly publish against indicators, milestones and outcomes though an independent body such as a National Infrastructure Plan Forum – to avoid uncertainty over progress undermining the credibility of the Plan.
These calls echo recent concerns by the CBI that more must be done to persuade pension funds that infrastructure presents a sound investment and for Government to put more “flesh on the bones” of the infrastructure plan in the coming Budget.
ICE Director General, Nick Baveystock, said: “Government has taken many positive steps in the last year to place UK infrastructure at the heart of its plans to stimulate our economy and improve our quality of life. However there is no room for complacency. UK infrastructure, despite improvements, should be better and the coming Budget will be pivotal in showing Government’s commitment to that.
“We hope to see the Chancellor announce some measures that will build on the recent progress by enabling the actual delivery of this plan – importantly this includes measures which hold Government to account on its progress both in terms of achieving the milestones of the plan itself and on its efforts to attract private finance.
He concluded: “Demonstrating accountability and setting up regular, high profile, public reporting on progress – especially through independent processes and forums - will give investors more confidence in the Plan and a platform for continuous dialogue between industry, investors and Government. ICE stands ready to help assist with the development of such initiatives.”
Other ICE Budget calls:
- Show unambiguous commitment and consistency to driving forward key programmes and projects, including Electricity Market Reform, High Speed 2 and the achievement of a definitive solution to the UK’s aviation capacity challenge.
- Increase support for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) subjects in education and work with professions to provide more routes into engineering careers.