Andy Burnham is being urged to create a dedicated Department for Infrastructure as one of his first acts in Downing Street, ending what engineers say is a fragmented Whitehall system that delays projects and wastes money.
The Association for Consultancy and Engineering has written to Burnham arguing his experience as Mayor of Greater Manchester makes him uniquely placed to understand the damage caused when responsibility for transport, energy, water, housing and digital infrastructure is split across government.
ACE represents around 300 consultancy and engineering businesses employing more than 470,000 people and contributing over £39 billion to the UK economy.
The sector also exports more than £11 billion of expertise every year and supports over 25,000 high-value technical jobs in Greater Manchester alone.
In her letter, ACE Chief Executive Milda Manomaitytė told Mr Burnham: “You have been the country’s most consistent and effective advocate for devolution and for the places-based approach to infrastructure that our members believe in.
“That is why we are seeking your support for a long-standing industry proposal we believe would transform how the UK plans, funds and delivers infrastructure: the creation of a dedicated Department for Infrastructure within central government.”
ACE says the current system leaves major projects moving between departments with different budgets, priorities and delivery timescales.
Combined authorities can be forced to deal with several parts of Whitehall to deliver a single programme, creating duplicated work, stop-start funding and uncertainty for the businesses expected to design and build it.
The letter states: “Today, responsibility for infrastructure is fragmented across Whitehall: transport, energy, water, housing, digital and flood resilience sit in different departments with different priorities, budgets and timescales.”
ACE argues a new department would create one accountable home for infrastructure policy, planning and funding, with a single minister responsible for driving delivery. It would also bring decisions on transport, energy, water and housing together, so projects that depend on one another are planned as part of the same system rather than treated separately.
For mayors and combined authorities, the proposed department would act as one front door into government, simplifying funding routes and aligning local infrastructure plans with national priorities.
ACE says it would also give industry a clearer long-term pipeline, allowing companies to invest with greater confidence in staff, skills, technology and delivery capacity.
Ms Manomaitytė said: “No one in Whitehall absolutely owns infrastructure and it shows. Projects stall between departments, funding stops and starts, and projects get scrapped, delayed or blown overbudget.”
She added: “A Department for Infrastructure would help fix that and give industry the certainty to invest, innovate and deliver.”
The association has asked to meet Burnham or his team to discuss how the industry and the next government could work together to advance the proposal.
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