According to the government's official infrastructure advisers, a failure to accelerate infrastructure delivery plans over the next five years could impede economic growth and threaten climate targets. The National Infrastructure Commission's annual review acknowledges the challenges faced by the UK, including disruptions from Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. It provides a mixed assessment of progress towards key infrastructure goals:

• Funding settlements for local transport have been devolved to more city regions over five years.
• Funding redirected from the cancelled northern leg of HS2 has been allocated to local transport budgets. However, without a detailed replacement plan for improving train services in the North and Midlands, this decision poses risks of future capacity challenges.
• The proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources reached a record 47% in 2023. Accelerated rollout of transmission infrastructure has been welcomed, but changes to the planning system for onshore wind developments are inadequate for maximizing its potential.
• Last-minute policy changes have created uncertainty and reduced incentives for heat pump installations, potentially slowing the transition from fossil fuel heating. The government is currently off track to meet its target of 600,000 heat pump installations by 2028.
• Water demand has plateaued instead of declining, increasing risks to future supply. Additionally, network leaks are not being repaired at the necessary rates, with weather conditions causing a rise in leakage levels for most companies in 2022/23.
• Updated National Policy Statements for energy, national networks, and water resources aim to expedite decision-making on major projects. However, there are opportunities to further enhance community benefits for hosting infrastructure and reduce duplicative environmental assessments.

The Infrastructure Progress Review 2024 by the Commission advocates for a focused effort to accelerate policy implementation and delivery, ensuring that the country's infrastructure is equipped for the future.

In its recent National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission projected that public investment in infrastructure will need to increase to approximately £30 billion per year over the next decades, accompanied by a rise in private investment to approximately £50 billion per year. The report highlights the following areas for action:

• Implementation of coherent policies, supported by long-term public funding, to facilitate the transition to low-carbon home heating, thereby reducing household bills in the long term.
• Continued advancement in devolution, extending its scope to provide all local authorities responsible for local transport with five-year funding settlements, fostering more stable planning for road maintenance and other priorities.
• Significant transformation in the water sector, involving some increases in bills, to address interconnected sewage and drainage issues.

Additionally, the report offers fresh analysis on the railway network in the North and Midlands following the decision last autumn to terminate work on High Speed 2 north of Birmingham. While providing an initial assessment of the potential impacts of current plans on connectivity and capacity, the Commission stresses the need for greater clarity regarding the scope, cost, benefits, and schedule of individual schemes and their collective impact. The Commission asserts that existing infrastructure poses constraints on future passenger and freight growth, emphasizing that meaningful improvements in capacity and connectivity beyond Birmingham require further infrastructure investment.