Do less but better, infrastructure adviser tells government

The government should focus on a few large infrastructure projects to meet its goals for economic growth and carbon reduction, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has said. 

In its annual Infrastructure Progress Review, the group said the past year had seen progress on major objectives “stutter further just as the need for acceleration has heightened”, warning that the government was not on track to meet its own targets. 

The commission, which is responsible for providing expert advice to government of UK infrastructure challenges, said there had been “negligible advances” in improving the energy efficiency of homes or installing low carbon heating solutions. 

Just 55,000 heat pumps were fitted in 2021, a paltry sum in comparison with the government’s stated goal of 600,000 installations each year by 2028.  

The commission also called for a “greater sense of certainty” on major rail projects such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, stressing that delays pushed back the economic benefits of the schemes.  

After the announcement of delays to the phasing of HS2 earlier this month, NIC chairman Sir John Armitt told Building that the government needed to “get on and build it”.  

“The cheapest way is to build it as quickly as possible,” he said. “The more you spin it out, the more you’ve got future inflation. It creates more uncertainty.” 

The report called for the government to stick to its policies to reduce investment-deterring uncertainty and to focus on fewer but bigger and better interventions, with tighter strategic focus. 

“Government continues to expend too much effort on many small-scale funding interventions and repeated consultations, trying to maintain optionality in all areas,” it said. 

“Making small steps forward in all directions will not bring about the scale of change in infrastructure needed to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget and deliver a net zero economy.”

It also encouraged greater devolution of funding and decision making and called for the publication of updated National Policy Statements for key infrastructure sectors. 

Later this spring, the commission will publish a review on accelerating the planning system for major infrastructure, which will be followed by the second National Infrastructure Assessment in the autumn.