It is you and I who are going to have to stump up the hundreds of billions of pounds needed over the next decade or so to meet the UK’s Infrastructure deficit.
Who says so? Vince Cable. Answering questions at today’s Investing in Infrastructure 2012 conference, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills indicated that either the money will come from extra charges to users and/or general taxation.
In reality there was little else Mr Cable could say, as clearly there is no magic wand to be waved to conjure up the money. The private sector might arrange the financing of the big ticket projects but it will be us as individuals who foot the final bill.
The scale of the work to be done is mammoth. The Policy Exchange think tank says £500 billion – some £50 billion per year – will be needed by 2020 (see table below) and the Government’s own National Infrastructure Plan highlights £200 billion of potential investment over the next five years.
Source: Delivery a 21st Century Infrastructure for Britain, Policy Exchange.
Note: the Policy Exchange believes the £434 billion figure to be conservative and the true number likely to be closer to £500 billion
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So finally we’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth.
It is you and I who are going to stump up the hundreds of billions of pounds needed over the next decade or so to meet the UK’s Infrastructure deficit.
Who says so? Vince Cable. Speaking at today’s Investing in Infrastructure 2012 conference, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills indicated that either the money will come from extra charges to users and/or general taxation.
In reality there was little else Mr Cable could say, as clearly there is no magic wand to be waved to conjure up the money. The private sector might arrange the financing of the bit ticket projects but it will be us as individuals who foot the bill.
The scale of the work to be done is mammoth. The Policy Exchange think tank says £500 billion will be needed by 2020 and the Government’s own National Infrastructure Plan highlights £200 billion of potential investment over the next five years.
