Britain needs to build more infrastructure – and deliver it on time and on budget
A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) adds to the growing debate about one of the biggest barriers to improving Britain’s infrastructure: the cost and complexity of getting things built.
Lowering Infrastructure Costs, by Ben Hopkinson, argues that Britain gets substantially less infrastructure for its investment than comparable countries. It cites estimates that the UK pays around 65% more per unit of infrastructure than comparable countries, with high costs affecting everything from rail electrification and tram systems to major road and rail projects.
The report identifies a range of causes, including increasingly lengthy planning processes, procurement practices, regulation, a lack of continuity and technical expertise within government, and the way projects are funded and managed.
One particularly striking finding is the increase in the time required to approve major infrastructure. The CPS notes that average decision times for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects increased from 2.6 years in 2012 to 4.2 years in 2021, while the volume of documentation required has increased significantly.
Whatever the merits of the report’s individual recommendations, its central argument should command widespread agreement: Britain needs to get better at turning infrastructure ambitions into completed infrastructure.
For the Association of Infrastructure Investors in Public Private Partnerships (AIIP), that means not only speeding up decisions, but ensuring the right incentives and expertise are in place to deliver projects on time and on budget, as PPP manages to.
The CPS rightly highlights procurement as an important part of this. It argues that successful procurement requires a capable public-sector client that knows what it wants, chooses an appropriate contracting structure and actively manages contracts throughout their duration. It also warns against simply equating the lowest initial bid with the best long-term value.
These are lessons that should inform the Government as it develops a new generation of Public Private Partnerships.
The UK's experience demonstrates that well-structured PPPs can provide greater certainty over both cost and delivery. Previous research cited by AIIP has found that PFI projects were three times as likely to be delivered on time and on budget as conventionally procured projects, while the National Audit Office's recent review concluded that PPP projects were usually delivered on time and on budget.
AIIP has argued that a new generation of PPPs should learn from both the strengths and weaknesses of previous models – with greater transparency, simpler contracts, stronger independent oversight and clearer allocation of risk.
With major investment required in hospitals, Neighbourhood Health Centres and other public infrastructure, the priority now must be delivery.
Britain does not simply need to announce more infrastructure. We need a system capable of getting it financed, approved and built – faster, at better value, and on time and on budget.