Govt plans to transform £600bn infrastructure pipeline

Mark Farmer, chief executive of Cast, said: “The report released today by the IPA is another welcome addition to a series of recent policy announcements that acknowledge the crisis facing the British construction industry.

“Without a concerted overhaul of the way we commission construction projects and in turn how we train a future proofed workforce, our industry will be unable to deliver large infrastructure projects such as HS2, Crossrail 2 and Hinkley Point or deliver the government’s housing ambitions.

“These projects are of paramount importance to improving the UK’s lacklustre productivity and unlocking wider economic growth.”

Commenting on the news, Marie-Claude Hemming, director of external affairs for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), said: “The government’s £600bn infrastructure pipeline demonstrates it is committed to investing in infrastructure to deliver economic growth.

“Our industry is poised to deliver the infrastructure 21st century Britain will rely upon.

“At the same time, industry itself must modernise, and key to this will be solving the productivity puzzle. CECA is a keen advocate of rebalancing the economy, and we believe that all nations and regions in the UK must be given the opportunity of becoming economic powerhouses in their own right.

“To this end, the government must get spades in the ground and ensure schemes are brought forward to market without delay, particularly in underperforming regions.”