The Government should invest £30bn a year into public infrastructure to help level up economically struggling areas and to tackle climate change, according to the latest report from the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).
The five-yearly national infrastructure assessment from the NIC has called for a major increase in investment in public transport, home heating and insulation, and water networks.
The report recommended that public sector investment in infrastructure should be increased to £30bn per year up until 2040 and private sector investment should increase to £40-50bn in the 2030s and 2040s.
The NIC recommended that £6bn a year should be invested in replacing gas boilers and improving energy efficiency, and £22bn of investment should go towards boosting public transport in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and Leeds.
The commission also called for devolution to local authorities to manage local energy efficiency programmes.
‘We stand at a pivotal moment in time, with the opportunity to make a major difference to this country’s future. But we need to get on with it,’ NIC chair Sir John Armitt said.
‘People often talk about infrastructure as the backbone of our economy: what our infrastructure needs now is the collective mettle to turn commitments into action that will reap rewards for decades to come.’
