Blog

The inquiry started in March and took evidence from the likes of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Association for Project Management, Mace, WSP, University College London, Historic England and many more.

The final report, Building a Better Future: Inquiry into improving the delivery of national infrastructure projects, says many high‑profile schemes repeatedly fall into a “valley of death” between policy and delivery, where political churn, bureaucracy and skills shortages erode early ambition and investment. Drawing on evidence from industry bodies, project professionals, local leaders, architects and academics, the APPGPD concludes the current system is not consistently delivering projects on time, to budget or in ways that maximise benefit to communities.

The report sets out eight recommendations aimed at embedding delivery expertise across government, professionalising project leadership, and strengthening procurement and public‑private partnerships. Central proposals include making project delivery a permanent feature of Whitehall, insisting on independent delivery assurance before public announcements, creating a Chief Project Officer role in departments and establishing a National Infrastructure Delivery Skills Roadmap to secure a pipeline of trained professionals.

The group wants the government’s new infrastructure body, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista), to be granted stronger powers to oversee projects from policy through to completion. It also urges clearer public value statements for major projects and earlier supplier involvement in procurement.

APPGPD chair Henry Tufnell says in his foreword to the report that a shift in culture is required to stop projects being “boiled in the pressure cooker of Government, Parliament, the media and public expectation”. He singled out the skills gap as a pressing concern, arguing that without a reliable pool of project managers, engineers and specialist negotiators even well‑funded plans would falter.

Infrastructure has been central to successive governments’ economic plans because successful projects can improve living standards, boost productivity and create highly skilled jobs. But high‑profile cost overruns and delays have fuelled public scepticism and political caution, the APPGPD says. The report warns that short‑term decision‑making across electoral cycles, combined with weak institutional memory, contributes to repeated failures.

A key insight from the APPGPD’s inquiry is that the UK’s delivery problems are not mere technical hiccups but manifest a deep systemic malaise. Stakeholders, from the Association for Project Management to engineering firms, highlight that infrastructure projects are often oversimplified and lack the early, continuous involvement of proven delivery professionals. The temptation to commence execution before finalising project scope frequently results in costly revisions and delays. The report calls for a fundamental cultural shift: infrastructure delivery must be reconceived as a core government discipline with rigorous governance structures, insulated from political fluctuations and infused with clear accountability.

Political volatility emerges as a consistent threat to national infrastructure success. The turnover of ministers, shifting priorities aligned with electoral cycles, and premature project starts driven by political imperatives have fragmented the delivery pipeline. Drawing on evidence from projects such as HS2, where multiple leadership changes complicated progress, the report advocates for cross-party consensus and long-term stability to safeguard projects from “political mood swings”. Depoliticisation is vital to secure funding certainty, maintain investor confidence, and reduce avoidable scope changes that escalate costs and risks.

The APPGPD also recommends greater continuity between policy formation and delivery, with early benchmarks and protected resources for major projects so they are not repeatedly reshaped by changing ministers or shifting political priorities.

If adopted, the measures would tighten the role of specialist delivery professionals in policymaking phases, mandate training in project management for senior officials and managers of projects over £10M and push for procurement reform to encourage earlier engagement with suppliers, including smaller firms, and smarter contracting techniques. The group also proposes ring‑fencing funding to support training and apprenticeships linked to infrastructure delivery, potentially through mechanisms such as the Growth and Skills Levy.

The APPGPD has called on ministers to “radically reconsider” how they approach project delivery and to implement the report’s recommendations to ensure Nista and departmental structures can drive consistent delivery across parliaments.

Government ministers have previously committed to a 10‑Year Infrastructure Strategy and the creation of Nista to co‑ordinate major projects. However, the report identifies a disconnect between ambitious policy frameworks and the practical realities of project delivery, which has led to repeated failures to meet timelines, control costs or deliver envisioned benefits. The lack of a cohesive delivery culture within government machinery perpetuates these challenges, resulting in public scepticism and risk aversion from investors.

The APPGPD’s report seeks to subvert this and press those commitments further by giving delivery organisations statutory powers and by demanding clearer accountability and workforce planning.

Further findings

The report also underlines how effective delivery requires an overhaul in how public and private sectors collaborate. The traditional adversarial procurement models, centred on contract compliance rather than performance partnership, stifle innovation and undermine trust. The report recommends integrated delivery models seen in Scandinavia, with early contractor involvement, shared risk, and mutual goals, as benchmarks. It further argues for a reformed procurement process that values lifecycle performance, decarbonisation, innovation, and digitalisation over lowest initial cost.

Significantly, the inquiry spotlights the exclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from major frameworks, despite SMEs constituting 99% of UK businesses and offering agility and senior-led teams. Lowering barriers for SMEs in procurement would not only widen the talent pool but also diversify expertise and innovation sources across infrastructure projects.

The inquiry also confronts the stark skills shortages pervading the infrastructure sector, in engineering, project management, digital skills, and beyond. Necessarily, this skills challenge is compounded by the lack of pipeline stability, inhibiting the retention and growth of critical expertise. The report calls for a consistent programme of projects shielded from short-term policy shifts to nurture workforce development. It also emphasises the rising importance of embracing technological advancements such as AI, advanced digital tools, and data analytics, which remain underutilised in UK infrastructure delivery. Harnessing these tools effectively demands not only skills investment but also a stable, innovation-friendly environment fostered by government leadership.

Public scepticism remains a formidable barrier, with two-thirds of the population perceiving major projects as poorly communicated. The APPGPD insightfully draws attention to the need for genuine community engagement at early stages to build trust, reduce opposition, and ensure projects are seen as being ‘for’ rather than ‘done to’ the people. Communication strategies should move beyond simplistic success-failure binaries to capture the long-term social and economic value of infrastructure. Reframing infrastructure as a strategic programme delivering public value, across health, sustainability, and regional equity, can also help cultivate a supportive public narrative, drawing lessons from Spain’s high-speed rail integration.

A recurring challenge is the UK’s historical failure to convert lessons learned into tangible changes. Despite numerous post-project reviews, a significant knowledge implementation gap persists. The report champions the adoption of formal Learning Legacies, akin to those from Crossrail and the London Olympics, to systematically capture and disseminate knowledge. Equally, it calls for a paradigm shift in treating project data as a long-term asset rather than a compliance burden. By mandating open data standards, strategic data management, and collaborative data sharing, the UK could unlock predictive insights, improve governance, and strengthen communication strategies.

Civil engineers ‘strongly back’ recommendations

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (Ceca) has come out in support of the findings and recommendations of the APPGPD.

Ceca Director of Policy and Public Affairs Ben Goodwin said: “Ceca strongly backs the APPG’s call for Government to embed delivery discipline as a core pillar of infrastructure policy, protecting it from short-termism and political churn.

“The report emphasises the need to streamline infrastructure delivery through integrating project-delivery professionals from the outset, and reforming procurement to enable early contractor involvement and value for money.

“Infrastructure is the backbone of the economy but for contractors to thrive they need the clarity and stability of predictable pipelines, realistic budgets, and procurement environment that drives innovation and efficiency.

“For the UK’s infrastructure and construction supply chain to succeed, payment and procurement mechanisms must keep pace with 21st century needs. To delivery value, companies must be engaged early, paid promptly, and treated fairly, so that the razor-thin margins they operate under do not undermine the ability of contractors – large and small – to invest in capability and delivery.

“The UK Government has taken welcome steps in publishing its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and founding the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) as the guiding light to lead the urgent task of renewing our national infrastructure. But to meet the needs of communities and businesses, infrastructure delivery must be approached as a dynamic process of constant improvement.

“We call on the Government to act on the APPG’s recommendations and to work with CECA, our members, and other industry bodies, to secure effective delivery across projects of all sizes – and to secure the consistency, accountability, and value for money the UK taxpayer deserves.”

Like what you’ve read? To receive New Civil Engineer’s daily and weekly newsletters click here.