LONDON: Businesses are demanding an acceleration in spending on the country’s core infrastructure, including roads and digital links, to help drive corporate investment.
The survey of 722 firms on behalf of the CBI highlighted frustration with the “delivery of projects crucial to the British economy in this Parliament”.
The business lobby group said there were £411bn-worth of upgrades which needed to be delivered to oil the cogs of the country’s economic future.
The study found concern among 97% of the businesses around energy provision – given weakness in the spare capacity that has forced National Grid to make contingency plans to ensure electricity supplies this winter.
A new runway in south east England was important to 91% of the companies while 90% saw increasing capacity on the railways as a priority.
Almost 60% complained about the quality of digital networks.
Most firms were also worried about how policy changes on infrastructure projects would impact their own investment decisions.
That was underlined by just 55% supporting HS2 – with 92% saying that more information on how the rail links were to fit into the longer-term transport plan would be likely to boost backing for the scheme.
The CBI’s director-general John Cridland said: “The arteries of modern Britain are working overtime.
Whether it’s our creaking railways, clogged roads, and crowded runways, or our digital links and the energy to power them struggling to keep up, businesses now want the Government to deliver the large scale upgrades that it has made ambitious strides towards.
The quality of infrastructure is a key factor in firms’ investment decisions, so businesses, communities and the whole country simply can’t afford the cost of inaction.
“Business and Government are on the same page on the need to invest in our infrastructure future, as we have seen with the creation of the National Infrastructure Commission.
“But that hasn’t stopped wrong turns being taken, like the reversal on Government support for renewable energy.”
A spokesman for the Treasury said: “From housing, to railways to power stations, this government is committed to investing in high quality infrastructure.
“That’s why we will continue to invest in major projects over the next five years and why the Chancellor has just announced a new independent National Infrastructure Commission to give an unbiased analysis of Britain’s long term infrastructure needs.”
