National infrastructure plan

1 Introduction
2 2025-2035
3 2016-2021
4 2015
5 National Infrastructure Plan 2013
6 2011 revision
7 National Infrastructure Plan 2013
8 Criticisms
9 Related articles on Designing Buildings
10 External references

[edit] Introduction

The UK's first National Infrastructure Plan was published in October 2010. It was developed by Infrastructure UK a division of HM Treasury, with an advisory council chaired by Paul Skinner established to provide guidance on strategic direction and priorities.

The plan was created to tackle the UK's historically fragmented infrastructure development programmes which tend to be ineffective at prioritising need, instead only reacting to failures. The plan was intended to provide a clear, long-term strategy for maintaining and improving infrastructure, enabling the UK to remain competitive and to accommodate an increasing population.

The plan set out a vision for the infrastructure investment needed to underpin sustainable growth in the UK over the coming decades. It suggested that the majority of this investment would be funded by the private sector (almost two-thirds between 2011 and 2015).

The plan focused on infrastructure requirements for:

[edit] 2025-2035

in June 2025 the Labour government published its UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy outlining a bold, long-term plan to invest over £725 billion in economic and social infrastructure, aiming to drive national renewal, boost productivity, and raise living standards across the country. Recognising past underinvestment and fragmented delivery, the Strategy prioritises coordination, stability, and long-term outcomes over short-term announcements. It supports growth through improved transport, housing, public services, and resilience, while backing British jobs and supply chains. The plan aligns with the modern Industrial Strategy, providing certainty to investors and unlocking regional potential. Progress will be monitored and reported biennially in collaboration with businesses and delivery partners. The report was set out into 6 Chapters:

Chapter 1: A new approach to infrastructure to drive growth
Chapter 2: Encouraging private investment
Chapter 3: Unlocking growth across regions
Chapter 4: Becoming a clean energy superpower
Chapter 5: Delivering high quality social infrastructure
Chapter 6: Improving the environment

And covering 13 areas of investment, set out below:

Housing: supporting delivery of 1.5m new homes this Parliament, through the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme and with investment from the National Housing Bank.
Transport: Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement, capital funding to progress work on the Lower Thames Crossing and a new Structures Fund to repair major structures on the road network.
Water: water companies to quadruple investment in new water infrastructure over the next five years, including developing 9 new reservoirs.
National Wealth Fund: helping crowd in private investment and drive growth across the UK.
Clean Energy: including investment by GB Energy, the UK’s first regional hydrogen transport network and store, strategic electricity transmission network investment and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Nuclear energy: investment to enable one of Europe’s first Small Modular Reactor programmes and for nuclear fusion, alongside Sizewell C.
Schools: deliver rebuilding projects at over 500 schools within the existing School Rebuilding Programme and provide funding certainty out to 203435, enabling a further 250 schools to enter the programme.
Hospitals: delivering 35 hospitals in England via the New Hospital Programme.
Essential maintenance: providing funding certainty up to 2035 for schools, colleges, prisons, courts and hospitals maintenance programmes.
Digital connectivity: continuing investment in high-speed internet access via Project Gigabit.
Flood resilience: ensuring long term readiness via the 10-year flood defence investment programme.
Justice: three new prisons in England by 2031.
Defence: committing to 2.6% of GDP by 2027 on NATO qualifying defence spending

[edit] 2016-2021

In March 2016 under the Conservative government the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016–2021 was published.

For the first time it brought together the government’s plans for economic infrastructure over 5 years with those to support delivery of housing and social infrastructure. The government committed to invest over £100 billion by 2020-21, alongside significant ongoing private sector investment in our infrastructure. This investment to drive wider economic benefits, including: Supporting growth and creating jobs in the short term as projects are built – especially where public investment is used to attract private investment. Raising the productive capacity of the economy in the long term as the benefits of new infrastructure are felt; reduced transaction costs; larger and more integrated labour and product markets; and better opportunities to collaborate and innovate. Driving efficiency – enabling greater specialisation and economies of scale. Boosting international competitiveness – attracting inward investment and enabling trade with foreign partners. The report was set out into 15 Chapters.

Laying the Foundations – Establishes new institutions and strategies for long-term infrastructure planning, prioritisation, and financing.
Infrastructure Pipeline – Presents a £483 billion investment pipeline across sectors to 2020–21 and beyond.
Roads – Details a £15 billion investment to transform the Strategic Road Network and fund future projects through a dedicated Roads Fund.
Rail – Describes the most extensive rail modernisation since Victorian times, including HS2, Crossrail, and upgrades under a £38 billion programme.
Airports and Ports – Supports private investment in airport and port capacity with transport upgrades and assesses expansion options for Southeast aviation.
Energy – Outlines a consumer-focused energy policy shift with support for diverse generation sources and reforms in efficiency and supply.
Digital Communications – Supports broadband and mobile infrastructure through investment, regulation, and planning for 5G leadership.
Flood Defence – Commits £2.3 billion to over 1,500 flood schemes and a resilience review to protect homes and businesses.
Water and Waste – Describes regulated investment in water infrastructure and outlines current and future waste management plans.
Science and Research – Commits £5.9 billion to cutting-edge scientific infrastructure and innovation support through Catapults.
Housing and Regeneration – Drives housing supply via land release, planning reform, and investment in enabling infrastructure.
Social Infrastructure – Allocates £48.6 billion to improve schools, healthcare facilities, and build new prisons.
Regional Infrastructure – Highlights investments and devolution efforts to boost infrastructure across UK regions.
Improving Delivery and Performance – Focuses on enhancing project selection, reducing costs, and building a skilled construction workforce.
Monitoring and Reporting Progress – Establishes a framework for tracking and ensuring the delivery of infrastructure priorities.

[edit] 2015

An updated infrastructure pipeline published July 2015 detailed £411 billion of investment in 564 projects and programmes from 2015/16 onwards with increasing investment in transport, energy, communications and environmental networks.

In September 2015, the government published a National Infrastructure Plan for Skills setting out the results of skills analysis and modelling of the National Infrastructure Pipeline and describing the key challenges faced by sectors and regions.

In his speech to the Conservative party conference on 5 October 2015, Chancellor George Osborne announced the creation of a National Infrastructure Commission to provide an unbiased analysis of the UK's long-term infrastructure needs, delivering a long-term plan for, and assessment of, national infrastructure needs early in each parliament.

[edit] National Infrastructure Plan 2013

On 4 December 2013, the National Infrastructure Plan 2013 was published. This included £375 billion of planned public and private sector infrastructure investment for energy, transport, flood defence, waste, water and communications up to 2030 and beyond.

The plan identified the government's top 40 priority investments, providing more detail on the timing, funding and status of each and explaining the rationale for their selection. It also established a new Major Infrastructure Tracking unit within Infrastructure UK to track the progress of each of the top 40 priority investments.

The National Infrastructure Plan 2013 was published alongside the National Infrastructure Pipeline 2013 providing an overview of planned and potential UK infrastructure investment. The pipeline is intended to create certainty for investors and the supply chain, identifying key infrastructure opportunities. However, the government states that “the pipeline is not a statement of need or a commitment to undertake any of the projects shown”.

On the same day that the National Infrastructure Plan 2013 was published six major insurers announced plans to invest £25 billion in UK infrastructure over five years.

[edit] 2011 revision

The plan was updated in November 2011 with publication of the National Infrastructure Plan 2011. The revised plan (178 pages compared to the original 52) suggested that it gave '… clarity on the role of Government in specifying what infrastructure we need and how it can remove barriers to mobilise both private and public sector resources to maintain our world class infrastructure.'

The 2011 plan set out:

A medium-term plan for the UK's infrastructure.
A strategy for coordinating public and private investment.
Details of new investment.
A focus on delivery, with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury chairing a new Cabinet Committee on infrastructure.

Alongside the plan, the government published a two-year forward programme or 'pipeline' of infrastructure and construction projects. The pipeline was intended to provide the '…transparency and certainty, which will help businesses plan and give investors confidence.' The infrastructure investment pipeline was intended to be updated annually, and published as a single document along with the government construction pipeline.

[edit] National Infrastructure Plan 2013

On the same day that the National Infrastructure Plan 2013 was published six major insurers announced plans to invest £25 billion in UK infrastructure over five years.

[edit] Criticisms

The National Infrastructure Plan has attracted some criticism. Initially intended to look forward a number of decades and identify the critical elements of infrastructure that the UK would require in order to shape the future well-being of the country, what was originally produced was seen by some as a no more than a list of hoped-for infrastructure projects that may delivered in the coming years.

In April 2013, MP's on the Public Accounts Committee published a report, HM Treasury: Planning for economic infrastructure. In it, they criticised the National Infrastructure Plan, questioning whether it would be possible to raise the funding required to realise the plan in full, and suggesting that the public may end up paying a large proportion of private sector component through increases in bills. The report also suggested that the plan was simply “…a list of projects, not a real plan with a strategic vision and clear priorities..”