Make UK’s latest deep dive into the state of UK infrastructure has been released.
‘Infrastructure: Enabling Growth by connecting People and Places’ examines manufacturers’ perceptions of three specific types of infrastructure: rail, road and digital, and whether performance in those areas has improved, or not, over the previous decade.
It finds that the North of England is more critical of the state of road infrastructure than anywhere else in the UK, with 68% of those in the North West saying it has deteriorated over the last 10 years. While, unsurprisingly, manufacturers across the UK hope to see the repair of motorways and A roads prioritised by Government as part of future infrastructure plans.
They’d also like to see Government place greater emphasis on the benefits of investment, rather than on the initial costs, as well as speed up local planning processes and investment in public transport to help improve connectivity between young people and their manufacturing places of work, as well as better connecting east-west.
Manufacturers are well aware of the benefits of improving infrastructure too, with the reduced cost of moving goods and services viewed by 68% of companies as a direct benefit. Improved labour mobility in the midst of a skills crisis in the sector was also a key deliverable, alongside easier digital technology adoption.
If the new Government’s mission is to promote growth, then there’s no better place to start than with infrastructure. By improving the quality of connections, physical and digital, we will expand on our capacity to deliver consistent, genuine economic growth that benefits all participants in our society.
Stephen Phipson CEO, Make UK, said: "Following years of underinvestment, this new Government now needs to be bold on its infrastructure investment and realise the productivity improvements of doing so. At the top of this agenda must be repairing our roads with British manufacturers wanting to see an immediate focus on A roads and Motorways. To help make this happen, manufacturers want to see more local decision-making and support for local authorities to speed up planning processes.
"Increased investment in local bus networks to connect out-of-town areas would also give more young people the chance to work in the well-paid manufacturing sector, while long term rail projects are desperately needed to connect more east-west connections to truly deliver an equal share of opportunities around the whole of the UK."
