Powering the superpower : upgrading the UK's industrial infrastructure to unlock technological transformation for growth

Title page

Contents

FOREWORD 5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6

INTRODUCTION 8

1. POWERING THE SUPERPOWER: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE 11

2. NOT SO SUPER: THE EXPERIENCE OF BUSINESS 17

3. UNSHACKLING THE SUPERPOWER: TRANSFORMING OUR INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE 29

4. FROM RHETORIC TO REALITY: CREATING INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE FIT FOR A TECHNOLOGY SUPERPOWER 40

5. THE REWARDS FOR TRANSITIONING TO A TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERPOWER 47

TABLE 1. POPULATION OF BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY A LACK OF ACCESS TO BUSINESS FACILITIES 25

TABLE 2. ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF UNLOCKING SUPPRESSED DEMAND FOR INDUSTRIAL AND LOGISTICS SECTOR 48

FIGURE 1. INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE 8

FIGURE 2. THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY AUTHORITY 42

Charts

CHART 1. UK businesses lag behind Europe and America's in adopting most forms of modern tech 12

CHART 2. The UK uses far less robots than its peer countries 12

CHART 3. Multi-factor productivity has been the main driver of the UK productivity gap since 2008 13

CHART 4. Private investment in logistics and telecomms infrastructure has fallen since 2008, while investment in energy has grown rapidly 15

CHART 5. The UK's readiness for advanced tech has fallen since 2008 across all domains other than industry activity 15

CHART 6. As the UK's rank for infrastructure competitiveness has fallen, so has it's rank for digital competitiveness 16

CHART 7. Three in ten businesses are not confident the UK will be an attractive place to do business in coming years 18

CHART 8. People think the UK will be competitive with the US and EU, but are split about whether we'll be competitive with China 21

CHART 9. Fewer investors see the UK as an attractive place to do business in 2023 than in previous years 24

CHART 10. People think the biggest strengths of the UK economy are access to talent and expertise, with the biggest weakness around the tax regime 24

CHART 11. Around a third of businesses think the government is not meeting its responsibility to provide access to buildings and infrastructure 27

CHART 12. Businesses think financial incentives like tax reliefs and grants would best help them develop needed buildings and infrastructure 27

CHART 13. The average wait time for connection to the grid is over four years 30

CHART 14. Electricity demand is expected to increase rapidly in coming decades, primarily driven by surface transport and fuel 31

CHART 15. The transport and storage industry has seen a bigger increase in business premises since 2011 than any other industry 33

CHART 16. Delays on UK roads are the second longest out of all European countries 34

CHART 17. Job vacancies in the transport and logistics sector are 25% higher than at the start of 2023 38