Writing in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, Robert Jenrick claimed credit for the Project Speed initiative but said that since his sacking from cabinet in September 2021 it had been abandoned.
He said the next prime minister should revive the programme to override the forces impeding the delivery of essential energy infrastructure.
He wrote: “We need to dismantle the powerful vetocracy that has impoverished the UK decades – and not just when it comes to energy infrastructure. The water crisis can be traced back to constant opposition to the construction of new reservoirs in the South East. We remain trapped with stagnant productivity as businesses cannot invest in capital projects.
“Indeed, the government recently cancelled the initiative that sought to grow such capacity around Oxford and Cambridge, potentially adding huge value to UK Plc. And the vetocracy is just as destructive at blocking vital energy infrastructure – making it virtually impossible to construct new nuclear sites or wind farms. In government I established Project Speed, a team of capable civil servants whose task was to find ways of speeding up the delivery of critical infrastructure. It was complex and laborious work, but likely to pay dividends down the tracks. Project Speed, I am told, was deprioritised, then abandoned. The next PM would be wise to restart it if we are to bring new energy onto our grid sooner.”
The Project Speed taskforce – more formally the Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce – was launched in the summer 2020, led by then chancellor Rishi Sunak. It was a key plank of the whole ‘build back better’ drive.
In a speech on 30th June 2020, prime minister Boris Johnson said: “Led by the chancellor, Project Speed will bring forward proposals to deliver government’s public investment projects more strategically and efficiently. This will ensure we are building the right things better and faster than before.”
While the Whitehall taskforce may have been side-lined, the Department for Transport (DfT) still appears to be running with it. It set up an ‘acceleration unit’ as part of the Project Speed initiative, headed by Darren Shirley, formerly Campaign for Better Transport chief executive. This spawned Rail Project SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery), jointly developed with Network Rail.
Members of the DfT acceleration unit expert panel include former Skanska UK chief executive Mike Putnam, WSP director Rachel Skinner and Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds.
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