Presidential Roundtable summary: will the next spending review mean cuts for UK infrastructure?

The UK Treasury uses regular spending reviews to allocate trillions of pounds of public money. These reviews help bring certainty, flexibility, and forward planning to UK fiscal policy.

The last UK spending review took place in 2021, covering the period until the end of the 2024/25 financial year. Beyond this, spending limits across the government are in question.

The recent UK Budget indicated that the next spending review will happen after the next UK general election, which is due before the end of January 2025.

Whether it covers just one year or three, the decisions taken about infrastructure will determine the UK’s ability to meet its net zero targets, secure its energy supply, and accelerate growth in all regions – all in a manner that’s just, fair, and fit for future generations.

This ICE convened a roundtable of experts, chaired by ICE President Anusha Shah, to examine what the next spending review could mean for infrastructure investment in the UK.

We asked attendees:

• What major decisions will the next government need to make about infrastructure spending as part of the spending review?
• What are the arguments for continued investment, through infrastructure development, to achieve net zero, climate adaptation and resilience goals when compared against additional investment in the NHS and social care?
• How do we make a case for a new approach to strategic infrastructure investment in the UK, that moves away from a stop-start political approach and towards one built on the Enabling Better Infrastructure (EBI) principles?