Preparing for Change: UK General Election Update

In more detail:

Planning: significantly, planning reforms were announced by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, showing that the Government has identified planning as a key blocker to economic growth.  The reforms fall into four main buckets: 

• structural changes to planning policy
• jump starting big projects (focusing on energy, such as lifting the ban on onshore wind projects) and looking to reform the approach to deliver infrastructure projects
• driving up house building with a new taskforce to unlock stalled housing sites
• improving decision making by signalling growth in local authority planning capacity and putting pressure on local planning authorities as well as expanding Ministerial call in powers for planning applications

National investment: The much talked about National Wealth Fund was announced. While plans are still vague, this seems to be seen as building on the work of current public finance institutions (primarily the UK Infrastructure Bank and the British Business Bank) to engage more with industry and to catalyse private sector partners to make “transformational” investments across the country.

Energy policy: the priorities announced here include:

• the creation of Great British Energy, one of the Government’s manifesto “missions”
• the “transition” for North Sea oil and gas, on the back of the expected announcement to issue no new licences for drilling
• a new “Mission Control”, which will be a “one stop shop” bringing together a top team of industry experts and officials to drive energy projects, working with energy companies and the regulator

Utilities and transport: alongside the much anticipated Ofwat water determinations, the Government’s announcements on water company governance also sought to balance the customer’s needs with the necessary investment for the future.  In transport, again there was a key focus on infrastructure, and a better integrated transport network as well as the expected rail reform.

Digital: the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will expand in both scope and size bringing in experts in data, digital and AI from the:

• Government Digital Service (GDS)
• Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO)
• Incubator for AI (i.AI)

This is intended to herald DSIT as the “digital centre of government”, working closely with the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.  The manifesto did not give detail on how the Government will use AI and data to drive transformational change in public services but in a constrained fiscal environment, this is likely to be one of the key themes for the next few years.

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