Boris Johnson’s new deal. A good deal?

Three-pronged messaging has been a staple of the government’s approach to communications during the ongoing pandemic. As such, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the prime minister earlier this week addressing the nation from a lectern emblazoned ‘Build, build, build’. 

Boris Johnson’s announcement on Tuesday, to provide a new ￡5bn infrastructure-led stimulus to aid the UK’s economic recovery, will undoubtedly be music to the ears of those in the construction sector. The industry has returned to work quickly over the last month but has ultimately had its confidence knocked with private capital likely to be less forthcoming in the next 12 months.

Encouragingly, the public sector will prove the biggest beneficiary of the Rooseveltian ‘New Deal’, as Downing Street is keen for us to view it – and rightly so, after a decade of austerity measures has forced local authorities to be at their most creative and innovative to achieve their ambitions. Only last week, the scale of the funding gap (￡3.2bn) facing local councils was front page news, which reinforces the need for the public sector and the industry to work together to use the impetus provided by central government wisely.

Every project benefitting from this new pot must be planned, procured and delivered meticulously to ensure a quality of build that lasts for generations and delivers value for the taxpayer. Projects must also have our 2050 net-zero carbon commitments at their heart. Mr Johnson outlined the need to prioritise brownfield sites for redevelopment and plans to plant as many as 30,000 hectares of trees a year by 2025. Beyond this though, we should be investing in the designs and materials that ensure schools, prisons, hospitals and key infrastructure begin to focus more resolutely on delivering a carbon neutral future.

‘Radical reform’ to the UK’s planning system will also play a part – although many will be forgiven for thinking that they’ve heard this one before and so will be watching keenly for more tangible details.

While gratefully welcomed, this latest round of funding will not create a utopia for the construction industry. I was interested to see one fact checking service note that the Roosevelt-era interventions the prime minister hopes to align with far outreached the spending levels announced on Tuesday (5-7% of GDP per annum vs a one-off stimulus of <0.25%).

With that in mind, we must make the most of the limited resources available and harness this opportunity to bring together the public sector, contractors and their supply chains to deliver outcomes that keep the UK economy on an upwards trajectory. 

There will be many views on how we make the most of this new deal and I’d be interested to hear opinions from all corners. Please comment below to join the discussion!