In today’s episode we head back into the corridors of power to talk to Mike Reader Member of Parliament for Northampton South and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure.

And after my recent conversation with Sarah Jones MP, minister of state for Business and net zero it will be interesting to contrast this government view of the nation’s infrastructure ambition with one from Parliament’s back benches.

Certainly, there is no question that this government has infrastructure investment firmly in its sights when it comes to delivering on its ultimate mission for economic growth. 

We hear about no end of plans for refocusing on and accelerating delivery of nationally significant infrastructure projects such as Heathrow third runway, Lower Thames Crossing, energy transition and distribution, new reservoirs and of course most recently a £3.6bn injection into the UK’s flood defences.

But, as we also know, local infrastructure improvements are what really turns voters heads – be they improved bus services, tackling potholes, improving schools and hospitals or, indeed, providing new homes. 

And of course we also know that local infrastructure impacts, be they pylons on the skyline or rail tracks through the pastures, can and do have a major impact of deliverability. 

Navigating this difficult route from infrastructure aspiration to reality so often falls on the desks of an army of back bench MPs representing the myriad of interests – for and against proposals - within communities across the UK. So let’s talk to one of them.

Resources 

Mike Reader MP website

All Party Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure 

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Government Industrial Strategy in the UK paper

Bold reforms to planning systems

Construction Leadership Council

Rachel Reeves speech - January 2025

Transforming Infrastructure Performance

In today special 100th episode we shift to the heart of the UK government to hear first-hand from Construction Minister Sarah Jones MP about how she intends to embrace and accelerate infrastructure investment as a means to deliver the government’s overarching mission for economic growth.

The podcast was recorded live in front of an invited audience of professionals at last week’s Twin Talks breakfast meeting hosted by Bentley Systems – just before the Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out her plans to cut through the planning and environmental blockers and accelerate a rake of nationally significant infrastructure projects such as the much discussed Heathrow third runway, East West Rail and the Oxford Cambridge Arc, Lower Thames Crossing, a raft of new reservoirs and a splurge of national wealth fund cash to underpin electric vehicle charging.

As I discussed in last week's podcast with Skanska UK boss Katy Dowding, infrastructure is truly back in fashion and at the heart of the Labour government's increasingly desperate search for growth.

So a great moment to chat to Sarah Jones, who was appointed as Minister of State at both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, last July, having been elected as the MP for Croydon West in June 2017. 

Her busy, cross-department role brings up an interesting mix of responsibilities, all of which, of course, have major implications for the construction and infrastructure sectors as the government attempts to balance public sector ambitions for economic growth, higher living standards and better environment outcomes with the reality of constrained public finances and the need to truly engage private sector investment and innovation. 

We have truly got interesting, challenging and exciting times ahead. I started by finding out a bit more about her plans for delivery…

Resources

Government Industrial Strategy in the UK paper

Bold reforms to planing systems

Construction Leadership Council

Sarah Jones MP website

Rachel Reeves speech - January 2025

Transforming Infrastructure Performance

Today's podcast is episode 99 and we are going to talk about the challenge of modern contracting. 

There is no doubt that we are in a world where infrastructure investment is well and truly back in fashion. 

That’s true whether we are transforming our energy future, racing to meet a net zero goals, improving lives and community, protecting the environment, solving the housing crisis or indeed, supporting the government’s lofty ambitions for an AI driven, world leading growth agenda,

Yes, we hear it all the time: infrastructure investment is key to boosting growth. Yet the question still remains: how do we actually create this new world? 

The answer of course is contractors - the skills, the ingenuity, and innovation, passion and resource of a pretty unique bunch of folk who, rain or shine, get out there and make it happen. 

My guest today knows all about the pressures and delights of contracting. Katy Dowding is president and CEO of Skanska UK, one of the UK's leading and most innovative contractors and the UK division of Skanska AB, the £13bn revenue global business based in Sweden.

Katy has been with Skanska for a large part of her 30 year career in the industry and has ridden the rollercoaster of boom and bust, feast and famine that has too often characterised the sector throughout that time.

So where are we now? Are we moving away from the low margin dog eat dog world? Have we arrived at the new low carbon era of collaboration, quality driven value led outcomes? 

And critically, are we creating an industry in which the brightest and the best actually now want to work and a sector that is set up to transform the world around us and create the kind of built and natural environment that really will change lives?

Let's find out.

Resources
Skanska UK website
Construction Leadership Council
National Infrastructure Commission
Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Wates Corporate Governance Principles
Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction
Construction Youth Trust

In today's podcast we go Stateside to catch up on what is happening in the US as the global super power prepares for the latest iteration of the Donald Trump Presidency and as Los Angeles struggles to contain and recover from catastrophic wild fires.

My guest today is Steve Burrows, ICE Representative for the West Coast of the USA. Steve is based in San Francisco and, after a global career in engineering working for Arup, then Aecom and WSP on projects including the Birdsnest Olympic Stadium in Beijing and Apple’s headquarters in California, is now an independent consultant helping infrastructure clients to deliver better outcomes from their investments.

So after 40 years in the region, If anyone has his finger on the West Coast pulse it’s Steve!

Well the Trump presidency is certainly a massive moment for the US and a massive moment for the rest of the world – huge consequences geopolitically and huge impacts economically if Trump follows through on his election promises.

And huge impacts for infrastructure professionals as the administration switches track from renewables and net zero ambition back to the drill baby drill oil and gas centric policies of the past.

Meanwhile of course the very real impact of global climate change has arrived in Los Angeles which is still battling what is certainly one of the worst natural disasters to have hit the city in its history. So far 25 people have been killed with many more still missing and tens of thousands of properties destroyed as fires rage across the parched dry tinder box driven my unprecedented high winds.

It is truly a scene of tragedy on a massive scale.

From an infrastructure perspective both events raise huge questions for the US – not least in a country that has massively underfunded and under maintained is infrastructure assets and that had world leading ambitions for low carbon development..

So make no mistake there are big challenge ahead as professionals attempt to steer the path toward safe, productive and resilient infrastructure. So how are they coping. 

Let's find out.

Resources
ICE North America
CalFire LA wire fires update
The White House
ACSE infrastructure report card
Genuine Intelligence Podcast
Steve Burrows Linked In
B2BURROWS

In today’s podcast we try to understand how the infrastructure investment we have planned across the UK can actually be turned into better sustainable outcomes for communities. 

To tackle this hugely important issue, my guest today is Professor Jim Hall, the 160th President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, professor of climate and environmental risks at the University of Oxford and commissioner for the soon to be wound down – or is it on - National Infrastructure Commission.

Now, in his inaugural speech to the ICE, Jim rightly pointed out that the infrastructure civil engineers provide is central to sustainable development. Yet, he added that, around the world governments continually struggle to provide those much-needed infrastructure services.

The question is why, and, of course, how can infrastructure professions start to really move the dial when it comes to ensuring that, for all the investment and enthusiasm, we are getting the right sustainable outcomes – the social economic and environmental outcomes from infrastructure systems we already have in place and from the new ones that are slated to be built as part of the on-going global drive towards economic and social growth.

Make no mistake, there are some huge opportunities ahead – but there are also huge challenges. Not least in a world increasingly led by climate change sceptics and vested corporate interests.

Well let’s find out what more the profession can do by chatting to an internationally recognised expert in strategic infrastructure planning.

Resources
ICE presidential address 2024
National Infrastructure Commission
National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority NISTA
NIC Needs Assessment 2
Infrastructure and Projects Authority

We are back for 2025 and in today's podcast we will I hope, start the new year by catching a glimpse of the art of the possible when it comes to embracing the use of data, technology and digital tools to drive improvement across the infrastructure sector.

As such it is my pleasure to sit down today with Nicholas Cumins, chief executive of global infrastructure software giant Bentley Systems. Nicholas stepped into the hot seat six months ago when former ceo, founder and driving mind for the business Greg Bentley moved up to chair the now public company, ending three decades of family control. So no pressure there then!

Nicholas set out his stall for the direction of the business during his keynote address to the 2024 Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure event held last October in Vancouver. This annual event gathers infrastructure’s top minds to share information and inspiration, find out what’s new in the digital design, construction and operation world and, or course, to celebrate success with a bunch of now highly coveted awards. 

These kind of global events demonstrate clearly how governments around the world are banking on infrastructure investment to drove economies but also that the future of our built environment depends on doing more with less and on achieving better economic and social outcomes for communities. 

And as Nicholas pointed out in Vancouver, that means creating new, sustainable solutions that will both protect our natural environment and meet global target for cutting carbon emissions. But it also means finding new and better ways to manage and maintain the vast amount of vital infrastructure that already exists.

Digitalisation, data and the power of AI and data analysis tools are key to helping professionals to make better decisions and creating better outcomes for the societies that rely on it. 

And it’s fair to say that software companies like Bentley are developing extraordinary tools to power this transformation. So let’s hear what’s new and what’s around the corner.

Resources
Bentley Systems iLab
The Digital Twin Hub
Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure 2024
YII 2024 Keynotes
Cesium 3D Tiles
Google partnership
Unreal Engine

Today’s podcast is the second of a two-part year end special recorded with Sir John Armitt out-going chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission and all round voice of experience and knowledge when it comes go planning and delivering the UK’s infrastructure needs.

And its the last episode of 2025!

In the last episode we covered a lot of ground talking about NISTA, the all new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, the challenges of turning policy into delivery, reforming UK planning and how the government might create the vital clear and consistent policy to drive forward vital investment needed for infrastructure projects that will boost economic growth and transform lives and communities across the UK.

If you haven’t done so already, I heartily recommend you have a listen.  Check out episode 94

In part 2 we will build on these themes and talk a bit more about driving down costs and improving outcomes from investment, about delivering more for the public and about ensuring private sector investors and the supply can really engage with the government’s plans.

But first we have a catch up about the National Infrastructure Commission, what it has achieved since 2015 and where it is heading.

Enjoy the episode

Resources
National Infrastructure Commission
Infrastructure and Projects Authority
National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority NISTA
NIC Needs Assessment 2
NIC letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 10 year strategy
Banner Review into NSIP judicial reviews
Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Today’s podcast is a bit special in that it is the first of a two-part, year-end special recorded with infrastructure giant Sir John Armitt. 

To be fair, this podcast really needs very little in the way of set up from me, other than to say that Sir John is long standing chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, past president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and, to most inside and outside of the engineering and infrastructure sector, the genuine expert voice of experience, calm and common sense when it comes to the built environment.

And I imagine that if you are listening to this podcast you will be acutely aware that, having served on the commission since it was formed in 2015 and been chairman since 2018, John is stepping down from the role in the Spring next year as the organisation joins with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority to form NISTA, the all new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority. 

This will be charged with taking the strategic planning and delivery of the nation’s infrastructure to new levels, driving forward the new and eagerly awaited 10-year National Infrastructure Strategy, and boosting the efficiency and outcomes from the vast amounts of public and private investment being slated to underpin the government’s ambitious growth agenda for this Parliament and beyond.

Make no mistake, there is no shortage of ambition for infrastructure – the question, as always, is how to deliver. 

But if anyone knows it’s Sir John, so let’s hear from him

Resources
National Infrastructure Commission
Infrastructure and Projects Authority
National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority NISTA
NIC Needs Assessment 2
NIC letter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 10 year strategy
Banner Review into NSIP judicial reviews
Planning and Infrastructure Bill

In today’s podcast we take a deep dive into planning and how look specifically at how the recent Banner Review might accelerate the delivery of the UK’s NSIPs - Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

Reform is certainly overdue. Nick Smallwood, out-going chief executive of the government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority highlighted the UK’s poor track record of infrastructure delivery at the recent TIP Live Summit in London. There he pulled no punches and said: “We take far too long to deliver infrastructure planning. It typically takes as long to get through the planning regime as it does to deliver an asset. That's simply not acceptable. We need to do far better.”

So how can we do better? Well, we have the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill coming down the tracks and reform of the entire planning process is clearly on the government’s agenda with the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner laying out big plans for radical reform with virtually her first strike of the pen. 

But reform of the approach to planning around NSIPs has been on the cards for some time. 

As such, the Banner Review was commissioned by the last government at the start of 2024 under then-Secretary of State Michael Gove - and has seen Lord Charles Banner KC examine and propose improvements to the planning and approval process.

It is fair to say that the issue is coming to a head. Banner published his recommendations on 28th October, providing a number of routes to improving the system, addressing challenges such as delays, legal challenges, and increasing costs, particularly delay caused by the judicial review process that impacts large infrastructure projects​.

So as we now close in on the end a nine week call for evidence which closes on 30 December it is a great moment to find out about the key issues by welcoming Robbie Owen to the podcast today. 

Robbie is a partner and head of Infrastructure Planning and Government Affairs at Pinsent Masons and certainly one of – if not THE leading expert in the field.

Resources
The Banner Review
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
National Infrastructure Planning Association
National Infrastructure Commission
Pinsent Masons
About NISTA

As the latest COP29 global climate change conference draws to a close in Baku, this podcast focuses on how the infrastructure sector can summon the courage to transform its approach to sustainability and ensure that the issue moves from niche to become business as usual in the mainstream at every level of the supply chain. 

It's a potentially exciting time in infrastructure. The government’s £40bn infrastructure investment plan to get Britain Building is certainly ambitious and challenges all government departments, local authorities and the private sector to focus and prioritise around community and business need. 

But the scale of what is required also means securing a genuine transformation in the way the industry plans, designs, constructs and operates new and existing infrastructure, so as to maximise the social, economic and environmental outcomes achieved – reducing carbon, reducing cost and creating better results for communities.

But how?

Well my guest in this episode is Hannah Pathak, international managing director at Forum for the Future and a long-standing champion for driving collaborative action across business to help accelerate this kind of required change in some of biggest challenges facing the globe today. 

At Forum for the Future, Hannah works across a multitude of global sectors to help businesses understand and then achieve more sustainable business outcomes, using futures scenarios to understand the risks and opportunities and systems change practices to help navigate a route through the complex challenges.

I met Hannah recently at the FM Conway Collaborative Sustainability supply chain event where she gave a keynote address to describe the ideas contained in the Forum’s recent report The Future of Sustainability: Courage to Transform and where she challenged to audience to have the bravery to act.

Her words and ideas were certainly inspiring and very challenging – and I thought needed to be shared more widely. So let’s hear more!

Resources
Forum for Future website
Climate and Health Coalition
Future of Sustainability - Courage to Transform
FM Conway Sustainability strategy
FM Conway Collaborative Sustainability event
HM Government Budget 2025 to rebuild Britain