Policy area: Infrastructure

Reports

Devolution and urban regeneration: How can metro mayors transform England’s towns and cities?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government outlines what powers are available to metro mayors to drive regeneration. The regeneration of disused, deprived and deindustrialised urban areas across England will be crucial to the government’s ability to achieve its economic growth targets. It will also bring other benefits, like reducing regional inequality...

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Restoration and resilience

This report from UK think tank Localis examines the critical challenges facing local authorities in the South East and advocates for targeted strategies that align with the region’s unique needs. The South East of England, often perceived as a beacon of affluence and economic success, presents a paradoxical challenge to policymakers. Beneath its reputation as...

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The great grid gamble

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies states that politicians need to be guided by the best available evidence when considering the future of Britain's energy system. Ed Miliband hailed a recent report from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as vindicating his plan to decarbonise the grid by 2030. But...

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Popular planning

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute proposes enhancing public engagement in the UK's planning system by adopting a model inspired by fantasy football. The Adam Smith Institute's report, "Popular Planning" by Paul Smith, proposes enhancing public engagement in the UK's planning system by adopting a model inspired by Fantasy Football. Currently,...

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Restoring the value of parishes

This report from UK think tank Civitas diagnoses what has gone wrong with the Church of England in recent years, and makes the case for returning to what works. The parish church has been a foundational part of cultural life in England for hundreds of years. England’s 12,500 parish churches are ‘treasure houses’ of national...

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Lonely Nation Part 3

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice looks at how to tackle loneliness through the built environment. This report shows how the government can tackle loneliness through the built environment, defined in this report as the man-made structures and features that viewed collectively, form the places in which people live. For...

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Empowering ICBs

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue examines ways in which further devolution of powers and resources to Integrated Care Boards will help improve NHS efficiency. The NHS in England is failing to deliver. Public satisfaction is at an all-time low, there are long waiting lists for elective and primary care, and access to...

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How can the OBR improve the way it judges the supply-side effects of policy?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government sets out how the OBR has done this in the past, how its approach has evolved in recent years, and how it could be strengthened further. The government has made economic growth one of its five missions. But this will not be realised quickly: easing...

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Constructing consensus

This report from UK think tank New Local argues that the key to unlocking our fraught planning system is to give communities more power and influence to shape local development. Our country needs to build more. More houses are required to meet current and rising demand. High streets and town centres need regeneration. Our infrastructure...

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Accelerating Infrastructure

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies looks at how to get Britain building more, faster. One of Britain’s most pressing problems, as the new government has acknowledged, is how difficult it is to build the infrastructure we need. Infrastructure in Britain is much harder to build than it was historically...

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Getting the green light

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at the path to a fair transition for the transport sector. This report continues the Resolution Foundation’s programme of work looking at the main challenges from reducing carbon emissions across different sectors of the economy, and how associated changes will impact households on low-to-middle incomes....

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Great expectations in hard times?

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation will preview the big decisions for the Chancellor in the new Government’s first Budget. In this briefing note, we put the big decisions faced by Chancellor in the new Government’s pivotal first Budget into context, discussing the new – and old – spending pressures faced, how...

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Plain dealing revisited

This report from UK think tank Localis looks at planning for flood resilience. In autumn 2021, Localis published ‘Plain Dealing – building for flood resilience’. The study took for its context the sense that development on flood risk areas sits at the intersection of the housing and climate crises. In the three years since publication...

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Military lessons for NATO from the Russia-Ukraine war: Preparing for the wars of tomorrow

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at military lessons for NATO from the Russia-Ukraine war. The Russia-Ukraine war has showcased Ukraine’s remarkable ability to resist a significantly more powerful adversary despite its limited resources. Ukraine’s defence efforts have combined innovative strategies, harnessing both domestic ingenuity and foreign support to counter...

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Growing connections

This report from UK think the Social Market Foundation assesses the economic, social and environmental gains that enhancing the UK’s mobile network infrastructure could deliver for the UK. This briefing assesses the economic, social and environmental gains that enhancing the UK’s mobile network infrastructure and ubiquitous 5G mobile connectivity could deliver for the UK, and...

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Related Events

29 January 2025

Location: Online

Think tank: Centre for Cities

Cities Outlook 2025 deep dive: North West

This event hosted by UK think tank Centre for Cities looks at the data for the North West of England, differences within the region and how it compares to other parts of the country. Cities Outlook is Centre for Cities’ annual health check of the UK’s largest cities and towns, covering a range of indicators...

5 February 2025

Location: Online

Think tank: Centre for Cities

Cities Outlook 2025 deep dive: Yorkshire & the Humber

This event hosted by UK think tank Centre for Cities will look at the data for the North East of England, differences within the region and how it compares to other parts of the country. Cities Outlook is Centre for Cities’ annual health check of the UK’s largest cities and towns, covering a range of...

Related Articles

How can the UK’s industrial strategy support the ‘levelling up’ agenda?

'Levelling up' has become one of the big agenda items for this government but how can it be helped by industrial strategy? Use the Spending Review and R&D Place Strategy to increase support for business innovation in lagging regions By James Blagden (Onward) In recent decades the UK’s regions have diverged so much that we...

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