Bridging the gap: Delivering infrastructure investment in Britain's cities

Abstract

High-quality infrastructure is a critical component of strong economic performance. Yet the UK has underinvested in its infrastructure for decades — especially transport. The Government has started to turn this around, but big problems persist. Britain's cities still face a major infrastructure funding gap and a delivery system that is both over-centralised and overly complex. This policy note suggests three principal actions to central and local government: *lpar;1) find innovative and effective new ways of drawing private sector finance into infrastructure investment; (2) give local leaders the financial levers required to address their infrastructure needs; and (3) simplify the UK's infrastructure delivery system.