New Report Shows Vast Increase In Spend on Projects in the UK Government Construction Pipeline

Analysis by KPMG has revealed a £62.6bn jump in the value of the UK Government construction pipeline since August 2015, reflecting inclusion in the pipeline of the full cost of HS2 to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, and additional spend on education and nuclear decommissioning.

The report, UK Government Construction Pipeline – KPMG Analysis, captures £181 billion of spending on Government funded projects, increased from £119 billion in August 2015, and highlights that the largest changes in the pipeline are due to:

• An increase of £32 billion in the transport sector attributable to inclusion of the Spending Review 2015 budget for HS2 Phases 1 and 2

• An additional £15 billion in the education sector, due to an increased balance of spend as identified in ‘Investing in Britain’s Future’

• A £10 billion increase in the value of the energy sector pipeline attributable to additional spend on nuclear decommissioning

Of the 15 sectors covered in the report, 84% of the pipeline value comprises projects in Transport (£92.2 billion), Energy (£32.3 billion) and Education (£27.9 billion). A further 15% comes from Ministry of Defence (MoD) (£6.9 billion), Science and Research (£6.9 billion), Flood (£4.9 billion), Health (£4.3 billion), Justice (£1.8 billion), Housing and Regeneration (£1.4 billion) and Police Forces (£1.3 billion). Waste, Further Education, the Coal Authority, Culture, Media and Sport and Home Office all represent £1 billion or lower per sector in project value.

Projects that benefit the whole of the UK represent the largest spend by geographic split in the pipeline (69%) at £124.5 billion which includes HS2. The second highest spend is represented by the South at £22.8 billion (13 per cent of the pipeline) followed closely by the North at £20.7 billion.

Richard Threlfall, KPMG’s UK Head of Infrastructure, Building and Construction said: ‘It is encouraging to see the dramatic increase in forecast spending resulting from the Government including the full budget for HS2 phases 1 and 2 in the pipeline. The focus now needs to be on efficient delivery to ensure that projects are delivered to time and budget.’