Today’s update: the UK’s £530bn construction and infrastructure pipeline is coming under visible strain from skills shortages and weakening productivity just as Parliament advances major planning reforms and long-term nuclear policy. Cross-party concerns over labour capacity are converging with warnings that only a small fraction of government projects are on track, putting housing and critical infrastructure at risk. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
⚙️ £530bn construction and infrastructure pipeline “starting to crack”. A new Oxford Economics report for the Construction Plant-hire Association warns that Britain’s £530bn construction and infrastructure pipeline faces serious stress from skills shortages, falling investment and delivery delays. The industry needs 250,000 additional workers while nearly 500,000 are expected to retire within 15 years, with apprenticeship completion rates down to 53% and overall productivity declining by 0.1% annually since 1997. Only 14% of major government projects are currently on track and key schemes from hospitals to housing and airport expansions risk stalling; the CPA has proposed changes to Treasury policy on employer costs and tax relief to shore up delivery capacity. This underscores mounting delivery risk for major programmes and signals likely policy shifts around workforce support, investment incentives and project phasing. (Source: Project Plant)
🏛️ Planning and Infrastructure Bill clears Lords after 117 amendments. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill has completed its Third Reading in the House of Lords, with peers agreeing 117 amendments before sending the legislation back to the House of Commons. The Bill is positioned as a key plank of the government’s planning and infrastructure reform agenda, and the volume of Lords’ changes points to significant refinement of its provisions. For developers and infrastructure promoters, the next Commons stage will be crucial in determining the final framework for consent, risk allocation and programme certainty on future schemes. (Source: TLT)
🌱 Updated Nuclear National Policy Statement promises long-term certainty. Government has published an updated draft Nuclear National Policy Statement (EN-7), intended to replace the existing EN-6 and guide decision-making on nuclear energy infrastructure. Unlike the current framework, the draft EN-7 is designed to provide open-ended, long-term policy clarity for nuclear projects rather than setting a fixed deadline for deployment. This offers potential investors, utilities and the supply chain a more stable planning context for large-scale and emerging nuclear schemes, influencing siting strategies, consenting risk and long-term manufacturing commitments. (Source: TLT)
🏗️ MPs warn 1.5m homes target at risk from skills shortages. Cross-party MPs have cautioned that the government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes will not be met unless acute construction skills gaps are addressed. The warning links labour constraints directly to housing delivery, suggesting that planning reform alone will be insufficient without parallel action on training, recruitment and retention across trades and professional roles. For housebuilders and their supply chains, this raises the likelihood of policy interventions on skills alongside continued pressure to demonstrate delivery capacity in bids and partnerships. (Source: The Independent)
🏛️ Skills, planning and productivity pressures converge on project delivery. Taken together, the CPA/Oxford Economics findings, cross-party housing warnings, and the progress of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill highlight a system under strain: only a small proportion of major projects are on schedule, while both skills pipelines and productivity are weakening. With key social infrastructure and housing schemes flagged as at risk, the policy debate is shifting towards how Treasury support, planning reform and workforce measures can be aligned. Project sponsors and contractors should factor tighter labour markets and potential new regulatory levers into forward workload planning and pricing. (Source: Project Plant)
Also in the news
⚙️ The Oxford Economics report notes that apprenticeship completion rates have fallen to 53%, intensifying concerns over the long-term construction talent pipeline. (Source: Project Plant)
⚙️ Nearly 500,000 UK construction workers are expected to retire within 15 years, compounding existing labour shortages and raising succession and knowledge-transfer risks. (Source: Project Plant)
🏛️ The CPA has submitted proposals to the Treasury aimed at reducing employer cost pressures and adjusting tax reliefs to support investment in plant and people. (Source: Project Plant)
🚆 The Planning and Infrastructure Bill’s return to the Commons will provide an opportunity to revisit amendments affecting nationally significant infrastructure consenting routes. (Source: TLT)
🌱 The draft EN-7 Nuclear National Policy Statement is expected to replace EN-6 as the primary framework for assessing future nuclear generation projects once designated. (Source: TLT)
The Daily Build is written for people making real decisions on UK projects, programmes and portfolios. If you know a colleague wrestling with skills gaps, planning risk or delivery timetables, feel free to pass this briefing on. Staying aligned on these pressures now will shape how resilient your pipeline looks in the next few years.