For far too long, chronic underinvestment in critical infrastructure has expanded regional disparities and pushed Britain to the bottom of the G7 and OECD league tables. Progress has been made by strengthening the public finance ecosystem, but too often capital is stuck because of limited capacity to convert ideas into investable propositions. The UK does not have a shortage of capital but insufficient projects coming to market that are investable.
The UK has the underlying strengths to shape its future – from leading universities to a vibrant financial centre translating cutting-edge ideas into new companies. It now needs to rebuild the bridge that connects capital to viable projects across the whole country to once again lead the global race for mobile investment, strengthen its economic defences against growing external threats, and tackle a cost of living crisis at home.
The Chancellor must use the Budget to back a new National Investment Delivery Unit (NIDU), committing £250 million (~0.15% of public financial institutions’ budgets) to get investment flowing at scale. The NIDU will be a new project preparation facility that identifies, prepares, and structures projects aligned with delivering the Government’s industrial strategy and energy security goals.
It should operate at two levels: blending top-down national strategy with bottom-up local priorities and operational capabilities.
- Scale the Regional Project Accelerator (RPA): Mayors understand the strengths and barriers shaping their regional economies best, but lack the capacity to build project pipelines and bring investment to their areas. The Government should scale the National Wealth Fund’s RPA to serve every mayoral authority, devolving staff and resources so that opportunities are shaped in partnership with local teams.
- Establish a Strategic Programme Accelerator (SPA): There is currently no entity responsible for translating the Government’s bold ambitions on good growth and reindustrialisation into a deliverable project pipeline, guiding investment into national priorities. The UK risks losing out to other countries. The SPA will bolster capability to identify high-level opportunities and break down government silos to structure and land nationally significant deals.
It is time for bold solutions that mobilise the power of the state to scale investment and jobs across the country and reindustrialise Britain’s forgotten regions.
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