{"text":[[{"start":4.64,"text":"The writer is chair of the Public Private Partnership Commission, former chair of the National Infrastructure Commission and the Olympic Delivery Authority"}],[{"start":12.96,"text":"As Andy Burnham stood outside the door of 10 Downing Street, he spoke of the collective failure of politicians to meet the challenges of the modern era. He talked about the need to do better and deliver for a public clamouring for change. Few areas illustrate the need for reform more than infrastructure."}],[{"start":30.48,"text":"In my lifetime I have seen 19 different prime ministers and extraordinary progress in UK infrastructure. As a country, we deployed the first commercial nuclear power plant in the world. My former company built the first 72 miles of the M1 in just over two years and the first North Sea oil platforms. The UK dug one of the longest undersea tunnels in the world to connect to France and I led the project to connect it to central London. Hundreds of kilometres have been added to the Tube and we have seen the first serious upgrade to the Victorian sewerage system thanks to the Thames Tideway Tunnel."}],[{"start":64.24,"text":"But there have also been significant failures. For nearly 40 years we have been talking about adding an extra runway at Heathrow airport. In the decade since I was an Airports Commissioner, we have essentially made no progress on this privately funded scheme while Paris has renovated two runways and Amsterdam’s Schiphol one."}],[{"start":83.98,"text":"The High Speed 2 rail line — which should always have been framed around capacity and not speed — will be delayed by years and has nearly tripled in cost to more than £600mn per mile. More than a billion pounds was spent on the Lower Thames Crossing before a single spade hit the ground."}],[{"start":98.72,"text":"If Burnham is to alter the UK’s long-term prospects, he needs to improve how we choose, fund and deliver large projects. The first step is to radically reform the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, the expert body that exists to advise the government on major capital schemes."}],[{"start":116.76,"text":"In 2013, as part of an independent review I was asked to undertake, we proposed an independent expert body that reports to parliament and the public on whether taxpayers’ money is being spent well on economic and social infrastructure. What we have in reality is an organisation that, despite some good people, lacks capacity and capability and has limited authority. It cannot successfully reassure the public, industry and financial markets that government projects are indeed sensible and will have a positive economic impact."}],[{"start":146.52,"text":"What the country needs is an Office for Budget Responsibility for infrastructure: a credible, independent expert body with clout that reassures investors and tries to stop ministers from making stupid decisions."}],[{"start":159.04,"text":"Many of our infrastructure headaches have been caused by a combination of interference by ministers, predominantly from the Treasury and the Department for Transport, who do not fully understand or care about the long-term consequences of their decisions. So-called Treasury brain prioritises short-term penny-pinching, which results in the slowing of major projects and increased overall costs. Projects starting construction before they are ready, a sclerotic planning system and a culture of risk aversion have led to £700mn of fish protection measures at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant — including the infamous “fish disco” — and the £125mn HS2 bat tunnel."}],[{"start":198.24,"text":"The government is spending £160bn a year on capital projects, but it needs to see that rise by about a third in the coming decade alongside a similar amount from the private sector. Such large amounts of money need to be spent well. Scrutiny by respected independent experts who report to parliament is crucial."}],[{"start":216.68,"text":"Infrastructure has the potential to transform living standards and economic prospects. If Burnham doesn’t grasp this nettle, his plan for national renewal is doomed to fail. We cannot let the UK continue its path of decline."}],[{"start":229.28,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785285394_7440.mp3"}