John Healey’s Autumn Budget should give mayors new powers to deliver housing, health and school infrastructure projects according to a new report by The Future Governance Forum (FGF), in partnership with Trowers & Hamlins.
Andy Burnham has made clear his government’s priorities are good growth, regeneration and getting more investment into the regions. Yet time is short before the next election for the government to make good on these ambitions and build new infrastructure, especially while fiscal constraints remain imposing. FGF is recommending ‘Mayoral Infrastructure Investment Partnerships‘, a new model of progressive public-private partnership that Mayors can use to build the infrastructure they need in their regions.
The ‘Empowering mayors with progressive public-private partnerships for growth and regeneration’, report calls on the Chancellor to use the Budget to:
- Give mayors the powers they need to deliver infrastructure in their areas, as part of the ‘Rewiring the State’ agenda, so they are licensed and supported by the Treasury and No.10 North to use the Mayoral Infrastructure Investment Partnership model where it works for them. This would see mayors given the support and funding they need to deliver PPP-financed projects.’
The report also calls on the Chancellor to use the 2027 Comprehensive Spending Review to:
- Give mayors the funding required to get these projects off the ground, with no extra cost to the taxpayer, by recycling the money freed up as old Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts expire. This would see £500 million devolved to Mayoral Strategic Authorities to fund public infrastructure by 2032-33, rising to £1.7 billion by 2037-38. By 2032-33, this could mean an extra: £25m for Greater Manchester, £25m for the West Midlands, £20m for West Yorkshire, £19m for the East Midlands and £17m for the North East – rising to £85m, £69m, £64m and £58m respectively by 2037-38.
Adam Terry, FGF Executive Director, said, “Britain’s hospitals and schools are crumbling and it would cost nearly £16bn in the NHS alone just to bring it back up to a functioning standard, let alone to meet our future infrastructure needs. Mayoral Infrastructure Investment Partnerships would enable the public and private sectors to work together to build infrastructure at pace, and deliver progressive outcomes in terms of jobs, skills and community benefits.
“The Chancellor is right to identify investment and place as two major drivers for getting our country growing again and bringing back hope. In his Budget he can address both by giving Mayors the powers they need to get building again in their regions.”
Amardeep Gill, Partner and Head of Public Sector, Trowers & Hamlins, said, “This report makes a compelling case for giving mayors the tools, flexibility and accountability to unlock investment that can transform communities. By bringing together public ambition and private sector expertise, it highlights how a new generation of partnerships can deliver not just vital infrastructure, but wider regeneration, skills and long-term economic growth. At a time when public resources are under pressure, this is a practical and forward looking blueprint for delivering meaningful change across the UK.”
FGF’s new Mayoral Infrastructure Investment Partnerships model has been endorsed by: Rebecca Evans, former Cabinet Secretary for Finance (2018-24), Welsh Government, Mike Reader MP, Chair of the Infrastructure APPG and former Director at Mace. Supporting comments are included in the report.
Unlike PFI, progressive PPPs would be used with a heavy emphasis on social value, skills, local jobs etc, rather than treating them as financial assets for investors overseas with no stake in those places.
Regional governments around the world run progressive infrastructure programmes, including:
- The “precinct public private partnership” approach used by Labor in Victoria, Australia, where public infrastructure like a new hospital or transport hub delivers wider neighbourhood regeneration like surrounding housing, retail and public space.
- The Welsh government has delivered public private partnerships through the Mutual Investment Model, which has seen the A465 dual carriageway and the Velindre Cancer Centre built in Cardiff.
- In Canada, regional agencies like Infrastructure Ontario have delivered public private partnerships across hospitals, transit and schools, managing procurement and contracts on behalf of government.
PPPs are, in practice, off the table for mayors currently, with no dedicated framework, funding or incentive from central government to use public-private partnerships, and with local projects still needing Treasury sign-off.
