All Recommendations

Government should commit to the development of a core hydrogen pipeline network that is operating no later than 2035. The actions needed to deliver this are:

• Set out a vision for an initial core network by the end of 2024, including clear identification of the key sites and routes. Based on current evidence, the Commission proposes the key sites for the core network should be Grangemouth and North East Scotland, Teesside, Humberside, Merseyside and South Wales
• Support development expenditure costs for front end engineering design studies to bring projects in the core network to the point where they could apply for development consent
• Expedite delivery of the planned business model for hydrogen pipeline networks which must include clarity on the process and timings for projects to receive business model support
• Designate a system operator with a duty to efficiently manage the network and ensure network codes and governance arrangements are established in a manner fit for this purpose
• Set out how decisions will be taken to add additional pipeline routes to the core network, including timings and the decision making criteria for awarding development expenditure in the shorter term and business models at a later date.

Government should commit long term funding of £22 billion for major transport projects in cities from 2028 to 2045. The initial focus for this funding should be on those cities that are likely to have the greatest need for increased capacity, justifying investment in rail or tram type projects – the Commission’s analysis indicates that these cities are Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester. Some of this funding should also be made available to other cities where there is likely to be a need for increased capacity or connectivity. To reflect the uncertainty over future travel demand and cost, the total investment package should be reappraised before final decisions are made on which projects to take forward

To encourage modal shift and enable an increase in trips in congested cities, government should make the long term funding for major projects outlined in recommendation 17 conditional on recipient cities committing to introduce a demand management scheme, in a way that is designed to work best in the local context. The exact form and sequencing of the demand management scheme should be a decision for the individual city, and the revenue raised should be retained by the local area for investment in public transport and active travel.

The cities that directly benefit from the major transport projects outlined in recommendation 17 should make a significant contribution to the capital costs. Government should expect a local contribution of at least 15 to 25 per cent towards the total cost of the investment – although there are scenarios where a higher contribution may be expected, particularly for less expensive investments. Government and the UK Infrastructure Bank should work with cities to investigate and facilitate financing mechanisms and funding sources that could include a combination of business rates retention, third party contributions, forms of land value capture, and new income streams, to support the delivery of local public transport infrastructure.

Government needs to move faster in devolving powers and funding for local transport to local authorities. By the next Spending Review, government should have agreed single multiyear financial settlements for existing mayoral combined authorities to invest in local priorities, and then continue to roll these out to new mayoral combined authorities. All county councils and unitary authorities that remain responsible for strategic transport planning should be provided with devolved five year transport budgets by the end of 2025, sufficient to cover maintenance, renewals and small to medium enhancements.
Government should ensure that £8 billion a year is available for devolved transport budgets for local authorities outside London, consisting of a combination of central government grants and locally raised funds.

21. Government should replace short term funding deals for Transport for London with five year funding settlements, sufficient to enable both the renewal and enhancement of London transport. Government should work with the Mayor of London to establish the priorities for public transport enhancements over the next ten-20 years and reach agreement on the appropriate combination of grant support, retained business rates and local mechanisms that can be used to finance and fund them

Government’s first priority for roads should be to maintain the existing network by investing adequately in maintenance and renewal, including to ensure proportionate resilience to climate change impacts. Government should enhance the road network on a strategic basis, with improvements targeted at underperforming sections of the network, aligning schemes with complementary policies for economic growth and giving initial priority to interventions in regions with underperforming productivity.
By the end of 2026 and ahead of commencing work on Road Investment Strategy 4 (2030 to 2035), government should use the improvement options outlined in the Commission’s analysis, alongside projects identified in partnership with sub national transport bodies, mayoral combined authorities and pan regional partnerships that unlock regional economic opportunities, to develop a pipeline of future interurban road projects over a thirty year horizon.

Government should prioritise maintenance and renewal of the existing rail network, ensuring proportionate resilience to climate change impacts. Government should develop a new comprehensive and long term plan for rail enhancements to address the capacity and connectivity challenges in the North and Midlands, alongside completion of East West Rail and a portfolio of targeted network enhancements across the country.

By the end of 2026, government should develop an integrated strategy for interurban transport to frame the development of Control Period 8 for rail (2029-34) and Road Investment Strategy 4 (2030-35). This should incorporate a long term vision for network performance and resilience, a pipeline of strategic improvements to road and rail over the next 30 years, as outlined in recommendations 22 and 23, and a plan for decarbonisation, as outlined in recommendation 13. It should also set out government’s approach to harnessing the benefits of new technology and achieving environmental net gain

Government should ensure that gigabit capable connectivity is available nationwide by 2030 by continuing to support network competition and market deployment, alongside delivering the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme to provide coverage to premises that are uncommercial.

Government must ensure the right conditions are in place to accelerate the market led deployment of 5G. By the end of 2025, government should:

• improve the consistency of approvals for 5G masts by planning authorities, including by allocating funding for local authority digital champions and publishing a list of the best and worst performing local authorities for site approvals
• work with Ofcom to encourage further use of the Shared Access Licence regime to speed up access to spectrum and open up opportunities for new services, including where increased power may be needed in some locations, and to ensure it supports localised private networks
• develop options for subsiding 5G coverage in uncommercial areas, should new use cases demonstrate the need for nationwide coverage.

Government should identify the specific telecommunications needs of the energy, water and transport sectors and ensure that infrastructure is delivered to meet these by, at the latest, 2030 for the energy and water sectors and 2035 for the road and rail sectors. Strategies for how this will be achieved must be set out by the end of 2025 for energy and water and by the end of 2026 for road and rail, including:

• the most cost effective network deployment models, and the extent to which infrastructure can be shared between different sectors
• a spectrum authorisation approach that ensures access to adequate spectrum, whether dedicated national bands or shared spectrum for infrastructure users
• clear responsibilities within government for delivering telecoms strategies
• consideration of whether dedicated networks and spectrum or upgrades to existing networks can meet specific public policy goals, including consistent and reliable rail passenger connectivity.

By 2025, government should:

• following advice from regulators, publish a full set of outcome based resilience standards for energy, water, digital, and transport services, committing to future reviews every five years
• require regulators to ensure their determinations in future regulatory settlements are consistent with operators meeting these resilience standards in the short and longer term
• require regulators to put in place a system for cross sector stress testing which addresses interdependencies and the risk of cascade failures.

In time to inform the next round of regulatory settlements (for water, digital and energy networks) or spending reviews (for road and rail networks and flood risk management infrastructure), government should ask infrastructure operators to estimate the costs of maintaining government resilience standards in the face of projected climate change to 2050. For sectors without formal spending settlements, such as ports and waste, these should be reported by 2029. All sectors should publicly report adaptation costs in a compulsory fifth round of Adaptation Reporting Power reports in 2029

By the end of 2025 the Met Office, infrastructure operators and appropriate regulators should work together to develop an accessible interface for asset owners to use relevant climate data. In time to inform the fourth National Adaptation Plan and the fifth Climate Change Risk Assessment, government should consider whether another UK Climate Projection is needed to fill data gaps to support infrastructure operators in planning for climate adaptation