UK Infrastructure Investment

Funding Allocation: £24 billion (capital) 2026–2030 , plus £1 billion new “Structures Fund” for bridges & major repairs .

Timeframe: 2025–2030 (first phase)

Expected Benefits: Fix potholes, clear maintenance backlogs; improve resilience of motorways/local roads . (Better road conditions reduce vehicle damage and travel delays, supporting productivity – exact numeric benefits not stated).

Funding Allocation: £15.6 billion for city-region public transport via settlements .

Timeframe: By 2029–30

Expected Benefits: Funds new systems (e.g. start construction of West Yorkshire Mass Transit) , doubling local transport capital spend in city regions by 2029–30 vs 2024–25 . Expected to increase public transit use and reduce congestion (no specific figure given for ridership or GDP impact).

Funding Allocation: (Existing project – continued delivery from Euston to Birmingham; no new cost figure given in this Strategy) .

Timeframe: Through 2030 (Phase 1)

Expected Benefits: Complete high-speed rail line London–Birmingham; unlock development around key stations (Old Oak Common, Birmingham Curzon St., etc.) . Supports thousands of jobs and new homes around stations (economic boost not quantified here).

Funding Allocation: £2.5 billion provided at SR2025 .

Timeframe: By ~2030 (initial phases)

Expected Benefits: New rail connection in Oxford–Cambridge arc; enable new housing and innovation cluster. Estimated to boost the local economy by £6.7 billion per year by 2050 .

Funding Allocation: £590 million initial funding (2026–27) ; further funding via Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model to be developed .

Timeframe: 2026–2030 (prep work)

Expected Benefits: New road tunnel under the Thames (east of London) to relieve M25 congestion. Will improve freight and travel times in SE England (detailed benefit-cost under evaluation; no exact figure given).

Funding Allocation: Policy support only – no direct funding (private-led project). Government invites proposals under environmental/climate constraints .

Timeframe: N/A (private project)

Expected Benefits: Would expand airport capacity (~+260,000 flights/year potential). Aims to improve global connectivity and reduce delays, boosting trade and travel (subject to planning and environmental approval) .

Funding Allocation: £2 billion for AI R&D compute infrastructure .

Timeframe: 2025–2030

Expected Benefits: Expands high-performance computing for AI research and industry; establishes AI Growth Zones (power and planning support for data centers) . Expected to accelerate innovation in AI (no specific GDP figure, but supports thousands of researchers and tech startups).

Funding Allocation: Regulatory change: National Planning Policy Framework reset to restore housing targets .

Timeframe: Effective 2025

Expected Benefits: Local housing targets reinstated to facilitate planning. OBR forecasts +0.2% GDP (≈£6.8 billion) by 2029–30 from higher housing supply , due to increased construction and related economic activity.

Funding Allocation: £39 billion over 10 years (2026–2035) .

Timeframe: 2026–2035

Expected Benefits: Largest affordable housing investment in a generation. Supports building 1.5 million homes by 2029 (Labour manifesto target) , ramping up to ~£4 billion/year by 2029. Improves housing affordability and construction jobs (1.5M homes equates to ~150k homes/year added supply).

Funding Allocation: £22 billion capital (₤16 billion new + ₤6 billion existing) .

Timeframe: From 2025 onward

Expected Benefits: Provides development loans, equity and guarantees to “crowd in” private investment in housing . Focus on SME builders and partnerships with local authorities. Aims to deliver ~580,000 additional homes beyond baseline by leveraging private capital .

Funding Allocation: £7.9 billion (over 5 years) unlocked via regulatory-approved water company plans .

Timeframe: 2025–2030

Expected Benefits: Construction of 9 new major reservoirs and 9 water-transfer schemes to improve drought resilience and support new housing/industry. Ensures water supply for hundreds of thousands of new homes (exact capacity gain not stated, but significant boost to water resources).

Funding Allocation: £7.9 billion over 10 years .

Timeframe: 2025–2035

Expected Benefits: Invest in new flood defences, nature-based solutions, and property-level protections. Will better protect 840,000 properties by 2035–36 from flooding , increasing community resilience against climate change.

Funding Allocation: (Policy targets with funding via existing schemes e.g. CfDs) – see Great British Energy below.

Timeframe: By 2030 (targets)

Expected Benefits: Offshore wind: 43–50 GW; Onshore wind: 27–29 GW; Solar: 45–47 GW by 2030 . Achieving these adds ~120 GW renewable capacity (enough to power millions of homes) and will help deliver 100% clean power by 2030 goal. (Funding mainly via Contracts for Difference auctions and private investment, not direct spending) .

Funding Allocation: £9.4 billion committed for CCUS projects .

Timeframe: 2025–2030 (initial)

Expected Benefits: Supports deployment in two industrial clusters (East Coast and HyNet) to utilize full CO₂ storage capacity, plus development funds for two more clusters (Acorn, Viking) . Will enable capture of millions of tonnes of CO₂ and protect industrial jobs; expected to deliver a first carbon capture operations by late 2020s (exact MtCO₂ or jobs figure not given here).

Funding Allocation: £0.5 billion+ (within CCUS funding) for hydrogen networks .

Timeframe: 2025–2030

Expected Benefits: Funds the first regional hydrogen transport and storage network , building capacity to deliver low-carbon hydrogen to industry and potentially heating. Aims for 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030 (previous UK target), enabling fuel-switching in heavy industry and transport.

Funding Allocation: Sizewell C: continuing support (exact gov’t stake/cost TBD); Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): enabling one of Europe’s first SMR programs (target ~1.5 GW) . Fusion research: £2.5 billion for STEP fusion prototype .

Timeframe: 2025–2035 (development)

Expected Benefits: Sizewell C: ~3.2 GW large nuclear plant (provides power to ~6 million homes when built). SMRs: ~1.5 GW added nuclear by mid-2030s, supporting high-skilled jobs and energy security . Fusion (STEP): aim to demonstrate fusion power by 2040s; keeps UK at forefront of scientific innovation .

Funding Allocation: £8.3 billion (over 5 years) for GBE (publicly-owned energy company) .

Timeframe: 2025–2030 (SR period)

Expected Benefits: GBE will invest in, own, or joint-venture clean power projects (renewables, nuclear, etc.) . Accelerates project delivery by filling financing gaps. Note: £2.5 billion of this is earmarked for SMRs (Rolls-Royce partnership) . Expected to catalyze tens of GW of new clean capacity and thousands of green jobs (exact project list TBD).

Funding Allocation: £13.2 billion over SR25 period (to 2029–30), incl. £5 billion in loans/guarantees .

Timeframe: 2025–2030 (initial)

Expected Benefits: Funds energy-efficiency upgrades and heat pump installations in homes to cut bills and carbon . Supports hundreds of thousands of heat pumps and insulation measures, especially for fuel-poor households. Should reduce energy costs (saving typical households hundreds of £/year) and cut residential CO₂ (no specific tonnage given).

Funding Allocation: £2.6 billion capital (2026–2030) .

Timeframe: 2026–2030

Expected Benefits: Accelerates electric vehicle charging infrastructure build-out and invests in R&D for greener transport (e.g. zero-emission aviation and shipping) . Will support the continuing EV transition (building on >1 million EVs on UK roads) and help meet the 2030 petrol/diesel car sale ban. (Target: thousands of new charge points; specific number not in Strategy).

Funding Allocation: (Qualitative commitment; no specific new funding announced).

Timeframe: 2025–2035

Expected Benefits: Policies to reduce landfill and incineration, ensure new waste-to-energy plants are carbon-capture ready . Facilitates recycling and emission reduction in waste sector (contributing to net-zero, though benefits not quantified in the report).

Funding Allocation: £70 billion (2025–2030) + up to £49 billion (2030–2035) . Includes >£6 billion per year for maintenance/upgrades .

Timeframe: 2025–2035

Expected Benefits: Rebuild and modernize hospitals and clinics across England. Eliminate all unsafe RAAC concrete from NHS buildings by 2035 , replace aging facilities, and fund the New Hospital Programme (40 new hospitals target). Expected outcomes: safer healthcare environments, shorter waiting times, improved patient outcomes and staff working conditions .

Funding Allocation: £38 billion (2025–2030) + ~£20 billion (2030–2035) . Annual school capital rising from £2.4 billion to ~£3 billion by 2034 .

Timeframe: 2025–2035

Expected Benefits: Upgraded schools and colleges estate. Expansion of the School Rebuilding Programme (hundreds of schools rebuilt/refurbished) . By mid-2030s, nearly £3 billion/year sustaining building conditions . Benefits: safer, high-quality learning environments for students, helping improve educational outcomes and skills development (especially in deprived areas).

Funding Allocation: £600 million per year (avg from 2026–27 onward) for maintenance ; (~£5.4 billion over 2026–2034) plus capital to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031 .

Timeframe: 2025–2035

Expected Benefits: Modernises prisons and court buildings. Improved conditions will reduce violence and reoffending in prisons and speed up court proceedings . 14k new prison places ensure capacity for public safety. Enhanced court facilities aim to cut case backlogs and improve access to justice .