The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 88

Guest:  Hannah Vickers, Global Head of Advisory, Mace

Budget aspiration to infrastructure reality

A week after Labour's first budget in 14 years - its "big" budget - we talk about how the UK turns all the infrastructure aspiration announced into the kind of life, economy and climate changing reality that is implied – perhaps promised.

Yes, infrastructure investment plays a key role in driving economic growth across the nation and across the regions of the UK – and according to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the budget’s £40bn budget spend will add some 1.4% to the economy – discuss! But only if these plans can be first turned into projects that actually succeed in creating the outcomes promised and demanded.

So infrastructure professionals simply have to get the delivery right. The economic pressures facing the nation, the social need in terms of housing, jobs and living standards, the absolute need to prioritise global net zero targets and a resilient future mean we cannot afford to get it wrong.

That means starting with an end in mind and then putting in place the steps that lead towards success - in the short term delivering to time and budget; in the longer term creating and maintaining the nation’s infrastructure to set us up for a sustainable future. 

Easy to say but harder to deliver. So what can actually be done to put in place the kind of steps required to plan our infrastructure, access the financing and then deliver to expectation? 

Well my guest to today is Hannah Vickers, Global Head of Advisory at construction and consulting giant Mace. In this role, as I understand it, Hannah is responsible for the creating the strategies, business cases and practical insights that increase delivery confidence, enhance productivity and create value for Mace’s clients and investors - so I reckon she should be well placed to help shed some light on this conundrum.

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