skip to content

Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction

Transforming infrastructure through smarter information
 

Following Chancellor Philip Hammond’s spring Budget, the Director General of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Nick Baveystock, has called the recognition of the importance of infrastructure to closing the productivity gap in the UK “very positive developments”.

nickbaveystockice.jpg

ICE Director General Nick Baveystock

The Chancellor highlighted that, in 2015, UK output per hour stood 18 percentage points behind the average for other G7 countries, 35 percentage points behind Germany, 27 percentage points behind France, and 30 percentage points behind the USA.

With his predecessor George Osborne having made several infrastructure-related announcements in the last budget, this time the focus was on skills and support for the innovation and technology required to deliver it.

Nick Baveystock said: "Considered alongside the Modern Industrial Strategy and Digital Strategy, this Budget shows a strong desire to position the UK as a leading global economy, now and in the post-Brexit future. The Chancellor is right to focus on the UK's productivity and in recognising the critical role of infrastructure to meet that challenge. While the Autumn Statement outlined infrastructure investment priorities, the spring Budget now focuses on building the necessary skills and technology to deliver them.

"We are pleased to see further detail on the allocation of the National Productivity Investment Fund with commitments to emerging technologies, 5G and fibre broadband, critical for the UK's economic growth and future prosperity. We also look forward to more detail on technical education reform, including the new T-Levels."

Read the full ICE article and watch Nick Baveystock interviewed on Sky News here.

An ICE summary of the infrastructure-related highlights in the spring Budget can be viewed here.

Latest news

Tongji University and University of Cambridge Forge Stronger Civil Engineering Ties Through Graduate Forum

23 June 2025

The Civil Engineering Division of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge welcomed a distinguished delegation from Tongji University, China, for a week-long graduate forum titled "From Concrete to Code: Civil Engineering in the Digital Era" , held from 17 -20th June 2025. The visit marked a significant milestone in the...

Cambridge Researchers Battle for Summer Research Support in CSIC’s “Dragon’s Den” Event

20 June 2025

CSIC hosted a dynamic and engaging "Dragon’s Den" event this week, where researcher associates and PhD and Master’s students pitched their innovative ideas to a panel of industry experts in the hopes of winning research support for the summer. Held on Wednesday morning 18 June at the University’s Cambridge West site, the...

 

CSIC Social Media

Follow us on:  LinkedIn and BlueSky

Watch our videos on: YouTube