Businesses Call on Gov to Boost Digital and Infrastructure Investment

A new survey of 722 businesses, which was conducted by AECOM and the Confederation of British Industry, has found that 62% of firms are concerned with the pace of progress on the delivery of infrastructure projects and 53% fear they won’t see the necessary upgrades within the next 5 years.

Unsurprisingly 94% of firms said that the quality of infrastructure is a key deciding factor in planning their investments, which the CBI says demonstrates a “clear consensus on the need to speed up the delivery of projects crucial to the British economy in this Parliament, and to reverse decades of underinvestment and policy change“.

On the ‘Digital’ front (e.g. broadband and mobile) some 72% of firms reported improvements over the past five years, although 59% remain dissatisfied with the quality of their current connections. Greater reliability is also seen as crucial by over four fifths of businesses (84% for fixed line and 81% for mobile connections).

The rapid digitisation of business means improved broadband speeds are another key factor and this is most keenly felt by SMEs, where 78% say it is important for fixed line connectivity.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said:

“The arteries of modern Britain are working overtime. Whether it’s our creaking railways, clogged roads, and crowded runways, or our digital links and the energy to power them struggling to keep up, businesses now want the Government to deliver the large scale upgrades that it has made ambitious strides towards. The quality of infrastructure is a key factor in firms’ investment decisions, so businesses, communities and the whole country simply can’t afford the cost of inaction.

Business and Government are on the same page on the need to invest in our infrastructure future, as we have seen with the creation of the National Infrastructure Commission. But that hasn’t stopped wrong turns being taken, like the reversal on Government support for renewable energy.

Delivery of key projects – from where we build a new runway to how we power our industry and homes for the future – must be the crowning achievement of this Parliament. That doesn’t just mean taking the tough decisions for the long-term. It means better planning and having the right skills in place to ensure there is seamless continuity from when the green light is given for action to getting spades in the ground.”

The Government’s £1.7bn Broadband Delivery UK scheme is of course busy bringing superfast broadband (24Mbps+) services to 95% of the country by 2017/18, although EU state aid rules make it difficult to use this funding in dense urban areas where the private sector has the prime responsibility for ensuring good connectivity.

Until recently the Government had a half-way house solution for urban areas in the form of their Connection Voucher scheme, which offered grants worth up to £3,000 in order to help smaller businesses gain access to a superfast connection. But that scheme recently ran out of money (here) and in any case it wasn’t available to all corners of the UK.

However there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. The government are due to announce further plans to improve broadband coverage during the forthcoming Autumn Statement / Spending Review 2015 next month, which is likely to focus on connecting the final 5%.