King Charles III’s speech at the State Opening of Parliament today set out the plans and policies to be brought forward by the new Labour government.
Richard Risdon, managing director for UK and Europe at Mott MacDonald, has responded to the proposals on investment in infrastructure in the King’s Speech: “Since the election it has been encouraging to see the pace at which the new government is starting to put its manifesto commitments into action. The King’s Speech adds to the momentum by setting out the legislative agenda for the next few months, which is critical for both us and our clients.
“The proposals to reform planning are absolutely central to delivering economic growth, getting Britain building and accelerating the delivery of high-quality infrastructure. The other parts of the speech that I feel could be beneficial to our sector are the announcements about Great British Energy and Great British Railways, as well as the English Devolution Bill. What businesses and communities now need is to understand how these plans will be prioritised by the government and how they will be put into action quickly.
“These announcements, combined with the National Wealth Fund and the new government’s approach to attracting private investment, are very positive for the UK infrastructure sector. What I see is a strong intent to develop long-term plans backed by new ideas for how to fund them but this needs to be backed up by a full three-year spending review this autumn.
“Finally, I spoke in the run up to the general election about the urgent need for the government to work with our sector on our skills challenges, so the plans for Skills England and reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy are a move in the right direction. However, I urge government to continue to work industry on this issue: we can’t deliver on the infrastructure investment needed without enough people with the right skills.”
Mott MacDonald is an employee-owned engineering, development and management consultancy, with projects worldwide. It plans, designs, delivers and cares for the infrastructure that society depends on – transport, energy, water and buildings. Mott MacDonald applies digital innovation and technical excellence to improve outcomes for clients, society and the environment.
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