The Government has published its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which sets out a long-term plan for how it will invest in infrastructure and ensure that funding is spent effectively and efficiently. It says it marks a new approach to how projects are planned and delivered and includes £1 billion to carry out maintenance on key transport infrastructure, including crumbling bridges, flyovers and crossing.
Earlier this week the Government accepted all of the James Stewart Review’s recommendations on HS2. It says the strategy provides the certainty and stability needed to attract investment, boosting British supply chains and jobs, and takes a joined-up view to improve planning and delivery across all types of infrastructure.
It will also encourage inward investment by providing a long-term vision that gives investors the confidence and certainty they need to truly commit funding to projects, creating job opportunities and boosting living standards for people across the country, delivering on the Plan for Change.
These plans are backed by at least £725 billion of Government funding over the coming decade, from which at least £9 billion will be allocated in 2025-26 to address the critical maintenance needs of health, education and justice estates, rising to over £10 billion per year by 2034-35.
This will increase access to quality, modern public services, following years of underinvestment, and deliver significant real-world benefits for patients, students, staff, and communities.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “Infrastructure is crucial to unlocking growth across the country, but for too long investment has been squeezed. Crumbling public buildings are a sign of the decay that has seeped into our everyday lives because of a total failure to plan and invest.
“We’re not just fixing buildings – we’re enhancing public services, improving lives and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth in communities throughout the UK.
“This will deliver the decade of national renewal we promised Britain, and fulfil our Plan for Change goals to kickstart economic growth, and build an NHS fit for the future.”
The 10-year maintenance investment will deliver tangible improvements for people across the country:
- Health: Over £6 billion per year will create safer hospital environments across England with reduced waiting times, improved patient outcomes, and better working conditions for NHS staff. By eliminating RAAC concrete and addressing critical infrastructure risks, patients will receive care in modern facilities that support rather than hinder their treatment and recovery.
- Education: Investment in school and college maintenance will rise to almost £3 billion annually, transforming learning environments across England and providing safe and high-quality spaces for children and young people, improving educational outcomes and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
- Justice: At least £600 million investment each year will improve safety and security in prisons across England and Wales, reducing incidents and creating environments more conducive to rehabilitation. Enhanced court facilities will help reduce backlogs and improve access to justice.
This strategic investment approach aims to help break the cycle of deterioration and emergency repairs that has characterised public infrastructure maintenance for decades. By adopting a preventative approach, services will face fewer disruptive closures, operate more efficiently, and deliver better value for taxpayers in the long term.
The programme directly supports the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future, with healthcare facilities that enable earlier diagnosis and better treatment outcomes. It also advances the mission to break down barriers to opportunity by ensuring all children have access to quality learning environments, regardless of where they live.
To support delivery of this strategy, the Government is funding at least £725 billion for the country’s infrastructure over the next decade, ensuring that public infrastructure capital funding continues to grow in line with inflation after the current Spending Review period. This funding certainty will help government and industry plan further ahead, allowing for more efficient delivery of UK wide infrastructure.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), established by the Government this year, will work with partners across government and industry to effectively implement the strategy across the whole of the UK. NISTA will periodically review the progress made and work with devolved governments to ensure that infrastructure strategy across the UK is joined up.
Becky Wood, Chief Executive Officer of NISTA, said: “This investment is a welcome part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and will help us to address some of the challenges that our key public services have faced over recent years.
“Strategic preventative maintenance based on longer-term plans is a more effective approach than making decisions in the absence of certainty about the future – and will ensure our vital public services remain resilient and fit for purpose.
“By approaching replacement and maintenance of our infrastructure in an informed and systematic way, we can target interventions effectively and plan properly for the future.”
Richard Risdon, executive board director and regional managing director for UK and Europe at Mott MacDonald, responded with a call to ensure the strategy is delivered in full and urged the government to become the guardian of a long-term approach to new infrastructure.
He said: “The government has demonstrated that it understands improving the UK’s infrastructure is vital to increasing productivity and driving positive economic, social and environmental outcomes. Its belief that funding the management of existing assets is just as important as the investment in new ones, is most welcome.
“The confirmed plans for significant investment across a wide range of sectors will help deliver a place-based approach.
“It is critical now that the government ensures the plan is built to last and transcends politics, so future governments see through the whole 10 years. It’s not just the strategy that matters though. We need government to adopt a holistic approach to encouraging people to join our sector and to develop the skills needed to design and deliver all this new infrastructure.
“I have always been clear that the private sector will need to play an increasingly involved role in major projects. However, the industry must demonstrate confidence in its ability to deliver on the plan in order to attract the investment needed for the strategy to be successful too.
“Responsibility for the success lies with us as an industry as the strategy will ultimately be judged on whether it delivers the expected outcomes, alongside tangible progress in how we deliver.
“We look forward to the publication of the announced infrastructure pipeline and the increase transparency that this will give to the public about what will be built, when and where.”
Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: “RIA has been a longstanding campaigner for a long-term plan for rail investment, enhancements and rolling stock so today’s Government announcement of a ten-year infrastructure strategy and the commitment to publish a pipeline in July is extremely welcome.
“We look forward to seeing the full details of the pipeline, which will need to give businesses sufficient clarity to plan ahead.
“We particularly welcome the willingness to look at private investment models, including public private partnerships. There is a significant opportunity to boost private investment in rail, such as to support the connection with new homes – which require transport links.
“The rail aspects of the strategy will need to align with existing and planned work programmes being undertaken by key clients such as Network Rail and devolved transport authorities to deliver maximum benefits. It should also leverage the enabling role of the railway in areas such as the energy transition and the rollout of new telecoms infrastructure.
“A more co-ordinated approach to the delivery of rail infrastructure will allow rail suppliers to plan investment in their business facilities and invest in their workforces including apprenticeships and skills. This is critical to meeting the future capacity and demand needs of passengers and freight needs across the railway in the decades ahead.”
Midlands Connect CEO Maria Machancoses said: “We welcome the news of Government’s commitment to the Midlands Rail Hub and of its relevance within the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy launched by the Chief Secretary today.
“The project is vital to delivering a step-change for passengers, businesses and commuters throughout the Midlands, South West and Wales.
“We must now work with Government, our partners and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to ensure the benefits of Midlands Rail Hub reaches our towns and cities as soon as possible.”
John Dickie, Chief Executive at BusinessLDN, said: “The Government’s recognition that Britain needs a clear, committed, long-term pipeline of future public investment to give the private sector the confidence to invest is very welcome. So too is the integrated approach to funding infrastructure across government, which will help the wider public sector and private sector take a whole-place approach to driving growth.
“In particular, we welcome the Government’s recognition of the importance of investment in London to support national growth, the commitment to work with the Mayor in developing an investment fund to support housing growth and the creation of a Development Corporation for Euston.
“We also welcome the Government’s commitment to new public-private partnerships where they can deliver value. These need to be combined with innovative funding reforms – for example using land value capture to part pay for the infrastructure which enables that land to be developed – to drive growth. We look forward to working with the Government to turn these ambitious plans into an effective delivery programme that drives jobs and growth.”
Chris Ball, UK & Ireland President, AtkinsRéalis, said: “There is much to welcome in today’s Infrastructure Strategy and the certainty provided by a long-term plan backed up by funding and new approaches to secure private finance and streamline planning.
“This is a comprehensive plan for renewal, regeneration and growth: upgrading ageing networks and buildings, strengthening resilience to extreme weather, and delivering the new infrastructure needed to unlock growth across the country. The Infrastructure Strategy reflects the scale and breadth of development needed to enable sustainable growth across the country and AtkinsRéalis is ready to help deliver against the priorities it sets out.
“Across the UK, there are plenty of projects being delivered through new, collaborative approaches and increasing use of data and technology to drive efficiencies and productivity in project delivery which can be adopted throughout the supply chain. Combined with new approaches to place-based growth, there is much opportunity to deliver better outcomes for people, place and communities.”
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