A new report by The Future Governance Forum (FGF) has recommended the government use a new model of public-private partnership (PPP) to meet the UK’s infrastructure needs and deliver community and social benefits. Rebuilding the Nation 03: Infrastructure Investment Partnerships written by FGF Policy Associate Matt Bevington, calls for a new form of PPP: Infrastructure Investment Partnerships (IIPs).
To ensure IIPs are effectively managed and deliver value for money and benefits to communities, FGF recommends that government should:
- Include mandatory community benefits in all IIPs, with contractual commitments on jobs, training and the use of local supply chains
- Guarantee fiscal sustainability, with a cap on the cost of liabilities arising from IIP projects
- Give greater regional control over infrastructure projects, empowering Combined Authorities to use IIPs where appropriate
- Deploy IIPs selectively in line with the government’s missions and industrial strategy, through a new Major Projects Skills Taskforce
- Use ‘Regeneration IIPs’ to contribute to regeneration of areas where new infrastructure is being delivered, with new hospitals or schools used as anchor investments for the regeneration of the area where they are based
The report looks to build on the success of new progressive models of PPP used by Labour governments in Wales and the Australian state of Victoria. It also looks back at the well-documented criticisms of private finance initiatives (PFI) in the UK, developing the new IIP model in light of these lessons.
Matt Bevington, Global Counsel Practice Director and FGF Policy Associate, said, “The UK has a gaping infrastructure deficit, estimated to be around £300bn over the next decade. To fill that gap, the government needs to use every tool at its disposal, including utilising private finance. But for almost a decade, central government has had no form of public-private partnership in its toolbox, making it an outlier not just internationally, but within the UK too. The new Infrastructure Investment Partnerships model developed by The Future Governance Forum would enable the Chancellor to leverage private finance responsibly and effectively to get new infrastructure built today and kickstart economic growth.”
Rebuilding the Nation 03: Infrastructure Investment Partnerships is the third report in FGF’s Rebuilding the Nation series, following reports on Progressive principles for effective investment and Pension reform that delivers for savers and the economy.
