Responding to the National Infrastructure Commission's Infrastructure Progress Review 2024, the Association for Project Management (APM) again called for an effective, long-term plan to deliver projects across the UK.
The report echoes voices across industry: it is getting harder to deliver projects, which tells us that whilst we may have the ambition, our projects are hindered by skills shortages, supply problems and low confidence.
The variation of progress across infrastructure is particularly concerning given the need to execute these projects to unlock economic growth and meet critical climate targets. We need to learn from the successes in the report, learn the lesson of projects like digital infrastructure delivery, and apply this across other infrastructure projects.
Andrew Baldwin, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at APM, commented: "Years of instability have reduced confidence in investment, but drastic policy U-turns like on HS2 are simply aggravating the issue. We must now assume instability is a given in project planning to enable us to prepare and gain more control over fluctuations.
"Under-resourced project teams limit project delivery across the country, so we want to see a drastic increase in the supply, and training, of project professionals.
"Transparency is needed across the sector to champion accountability, enable effective decisions, and achieve value for money in projects.”
"APM backs the NIC's call for an effective long-term plan, which builds confidence, strategizes delivery, and places project professionals at the forefront, enabling the UK to deliver essential projects which meet critical targets."