APM Welcomes Parliamentary Report Calling For Overhaul Of UK Infrastructure Delivery

The Association for Project Management (APM) has welcomed a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Project Delivery (APPGPD), which calls for a radical shift in how the UK designs and delivers major national infrastructure projects.

The report, Building a Better Future: Inquiry into Improving the Delivery of National Infrastructure Projects, argues that too many schemes fall into what it calls the “valley of death” between policy and delivery — where political churn, bureaucracy and skill shortages undermine ambition and investment.

The report positions professional project management as a cornerstone of the UK’s future infrastructure strategy, calling for government to adopt a more consistent, accountable and skills-focused approach to public investment.

The APPGPD, chaired by Henry Tufnell MP, launched its first inquiry in March 2025 to examine how government could improve the consistency, efficiency and public value of large-scale projects. Drawing on written and oral evidence from infrastructure organisations, project professionals, local leaders, engineers, academics and APM members, the group found that the current system is not equipping projects to be delivered on time, within budget, or to their full potential.

Professor Adam Boddison OBE, Chief Executive of APM, said the findings underline the urgent need to embed professional project expertise across government. “This report makes clear that closing the gap between infrastructure ambition and delivery is vital to the UK’s future prosperity,” he said.

“The APPG for Project Delivery’s recommendations recognise that professional project delivery is key to achieving better outcomes for the economy, society and taxpayers. By embedding project expertise at every stage, from policy design to on-the-ground execution, and by investing in the people and skills that make delivery possible, we can ensure national infrastructure projects are delivered efficiently, sustainably and with lasting social and economic benefit.”

The inquiry’s recommendations include making project management training mandatory for senior civil servants and anyone overseeing projects worth more than £10 million, alongside the creation of a Chief Project Officer role within each government department.

Other key proposals include:

• Embedding delivery discipline into government through a 10-year infrastructure plan, backed by long-term investment, to prevent projects from stalling between political cycles.

• Requiring independent delivery assurance before major projects are announced and ensuring project professionals are involved from the policy stage.

• Developing a National Infrastructure Delivery Skills Roadmap to secure a consistent pipeline of project management talent, potentially funded through mechanisms such as the Growth and Skills Levy.

• Overhauling procurement to include earlier supplier engagement and lessons learned from international best practice.

• Strengthening public sector capability in engineering, legal and financial expertise when entering public–private partnerships.

• Empowering the National Infrastructure and Spatial Transformation Authority (NISTA) to oversee projects from policy to completion.

• Requiring all major projects to publish Public Value Statements to demonstrate benefits for taxpayers and communities.

Boddison also thanked APM’s members and partners who contributed evidence to the inquiry, noting that the report “highlights the collective effort of the project profession to drive systemic improvement across national infrastructure delivery.”