BIFA positive about re-commitment to invest £25bn in road transport infrastructure, but CBI said failure to address threat of no-deal Brexit undermines intentions.
UK freight and business bodies have given a mixed but partly positive response to new UK government investment plans announced this week, although the CBI said a failure to address the threat of a no-deal Brexit undermined some of the other apparently positive intentions by the Conservative administration.
The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has given “a cautious welcome” to the news that the UK Government has confirmed a commitment by the previous administration to invest some £25 billion in England’s road transport infrastructure.
BIFA director general Robert Keen said: “We have regularly said that there has been too little investment in the UK road infrastructure network over many years. This lack of spending has caused the country’s network of A roads and motorways to become congested, undermining the UK’s competitiveness in comparison to its international peers.
“BIFA has said repeatedly that it is imperative that new road building and road reconstruction projects are not only implemented, but developed in such a way as to maximise their functionality. Whilst today’s announcement does not appear to be additional funding to that announced by the previous administration, it does offer some clarity on where the funds will be spent between 2020 and 2025, with 14 of England’s major roads being upgraded, including the widening of the A12, that key artery to and from the port of Felixstowe.
“That will be welcome news for BIFA members, which as freight forwarders, rely on the road network to move Britain’s visible domestic and international trade. We are now hopeful that talk of infrastructure investment will cease to be just talk and we will see some spades in the ground.”
Meanwhile, UK business body CBI welcomed some of the statements by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the 2019 Conservative Party Conference, but said they failed to address the elephant in the room – Brexit.
Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI director-general, said: “The Chancellor has put his money on a modern, connected, low carbon economy, which is exactly what business wanted to hear. But it feels like there was a page missing from his speech. It was silent on how the Government and the Treasury would respond to the serious rupture caused by failing to secure a deal with the EU – and the implications for the investments he announced today.”
On infrastructure investment plans, she said: “Too many parts of the UK road network are blighted by logjams making life unnecessarily difficult for people and businesses. The UK has under-invested for too long, so business will welcome these much-needed upgrades.”
On a ‘Brexit red tape challenge’, Fairbairn said: “This isn’t a priority for businesses at a time where stability is paramount. Where poor regulation suffocates enterprise, businesses do want to see changes. But the key issue for businesses – large and small – right now is not scrapping regulations, but getting a Brexit deal that sees off the economic turmoil of a no deal scenario.”
On rises in levels of the so-called ‘National Living Wage’, she said: “Business shares the Chancellor’s ambition to end low pay. Increasing productivity is the only way to sustainable pay rises.
“The success of the independent Low Pay Commission has been its evidence-based approach to increasing wages without damaging job prospects. The Commission will work best if it retains the ability to judge the pace and affordability of any future wage rises.”
Source: Lloyd’s
