Government offered lifeline on declining infrastructure investment
A new industry group is offering ideas to the government on how to fix miserable infrastructure investment and increase the number of planners.
The Purposeful Finance Commission (PFC) has laid out a plan to privately source and administer a £22.5m fund that would aid the Government’s target of hiring 300 additional planners.
Rachel Reeves referenced the mission to recruit planners in October 2023, as the then Shadow-Chancellor laid out her plans to grow Britain’s economy and accelerate the planning process.
The concept of the PFC’s fund is laid out in a new paper, which details the decline in infrastructure investment across local authorities.
Levels of private and public infrastructure investment rose by seven per cent between 2018 and 2022, compared to 37 per cent between 2012 and 2016, according to the latest publicly available data.
Analysis showed a decline in infrastructure investment in nearly half of English local authorities between 2018-2022.
UK bottom of G7 for infrastructure investment
The report also highlights the UK’s position at the bottom of the G7 league for infrastructure investment in 24 of the last 30 years, which indicates an under-investment of nearly £2 trillion in infrastructure.
The PFC said incentivising planners into areas suffering from shortages will help overcome blockages in the system and boost growth across the region.
It added that delays were holding back regeneration projects, prohibiting areas to unleash full economic potential and attract private capital.
Stephen Beechey, group public sector director at Wates, said: “This report confirms what we at Wates have been highlighting to Government for some time – delays to infrastructure caused by planning and a lack of resources can add significant costs to projects, increasing costs to the taxpayer and making some schemes unviable.
“Efficiencies can be made by removing blockages in the system and ensuring industry has a long-term pipeline, reinforced by available funding, to ensure we as an industry can ensure we have the capability, resources and skills needed to deliver the vital social infrastructure our country needs.”