** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **

National Infrastructure Forum“Delivering the infrastructure to underpin British business success”CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn

[Introduction – now is the moment]

Good morning

It’s a real pleasure to be with you today.

I’m sure that – like me – many of you were stunned…

…by Thursday night’s election.

I remember shortly after the referendum last June the CEO of

one of our leading supermarkets told me they had seen a major

spike in gin sales.

I haven’t caught up with him yet, but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s

the same again – and perhaps even something stronger.

This was undoubtedly another political earthquake and we have

yet to see where it leads.

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But one of its known effects is that it has pushed uncertainty for

our firms even further up the richter scale, from a pretty high

starting place.

But for me, one thing is clear.

We have an opportunity and an urgent need to turn our

attention…

…from the politics of the past five days…

…to the economics of the next five years.

The UK has a wealth of opportunity to strengthen its economy

…

…but to do this we need our foot firmly on the economic

accelerator and not on the brake..

We need policies and ideas which keep us open to the world…

…setting out a pro-market, pro-enterprise vision.

And looking ahead…

…there’s no shortage of heavy lifting to do.

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On Brexit, skills, innovation and – crucially – infrastructure.

As business…

…these first days and weeks of the new government will be

crucial.

We need to be ready, and I believe we are.

Working more closely than ever with government…

…putting forward…

…evidence, solutions and insight from the factory and office

floor.

There’s a huge opportunity here.

Despite the turmoil, and perhaps even because of it, we have a

once in a generation opportunity to transform the infrastructure

backbone of our country …

…in ways not seen since Victoria was on the throne

It’s an opportunity to bridge north and south.

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To strengthen the arteries across the country

To build the homes people so badly need.

Infrastructure is at the heart of productivity growth…

…across our United Kingdom.

We know this, let’s get on with it.

This really can be a golden age of infrastructure.

And fundamentally – it’s a chance to build our way to a new era

of growth.

[1. The golden opportunity]

But – of course – this opportunity isn’t going to seize itself.

The government knows infrastructure matters – we saw this in

the last parliament.

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We saw decisions…

…on Heathrow, Hinkley and HS2.

And we saw the National Infrastructure Commission…

…continue its crucial work providing a long-term view.

Now we need to take it up a gear.

We need action as well as words.

Delivery and not delay.

And in five, specific areas.

First – airport capacity.

After nearly half a century.

And four commissions.

The Roskill Commission.

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The Runways Capacity in the South-East Study.

The pithily-named ‘South-East of England Regional Air

Services Study’.

And – most recently the Airports Commission.

Last year, the government finally approved…

…a new runway at Heathrow.

A great credit to them – we know it wasn’t an easy choice.

But it was the right choice for our economy.

Now – we need to finish the job.

That means construction starting by 2020.

And the runway operational before 2030.

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With no missed deadlines.

And this must not be the end of our airport debate.

But the start of broader conversation…

…on how we can help all UK airports to thrive.

That means developing an aviation strategy…

…which works for all parts of our United Kingdom.

Second – is road and rail.

Whenever I meet CBI members around the UK…

…one thing they always mention…

…is doing more to link our towns and cities.

This really matters.

Our work at the CBI has shown...

…that linking up our northern cities is one of our biggest

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chances to …

…to raise productivity by expanding labour markets.

Reducing travel times in the north…

…could provide create a single working population of 16 million

people.

In Leeds alone…

…lowering travel times to Manchester and Sheffield to 30

minutes…

…could lift productivity in the city by more than 10%.

But linking up the whole UK – north and south…

…means getting on with HS2

HS2 has the go ahead to break ground.

And plans are continuing for East-West rail.

But firms are clear they want to see further progress….

…on projects like Crossrail 2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

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Because regional growth and London’s growth…

...are not an ‘either/or’ choice.

They go hand in hand.

Third – a quiet revolution is taking place in energy.

It’s no longer as simple as...

…building a power plant ‘over here’…

…and connecting it neatly to some houses ‘over there’.

Today, technologies like solar and wind…

…mean companies and communities…

…are generating, storing and sharing power.

Seizing the opportunity of green energy.

Less than two months ago – on Friday 21st April…

…Britain went a full day without coal power…

…for the first time in more than 130 years.

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And – looking to the future…

…government needs to give business certainty.

Saying as soon as possible…

…what the investment framework will be beyond 2020.

Fourth – is digital.

A massive opportunity.

The UK has come a long way here.

3 out of 4 firms think our networks have got better in the last

five years.

But – there’s a lot to do.

Across our country – there are still too many ‘digital blind

spots.’

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Especially in rural areas.

And demand for digital connectivity will only grow…

…as businesses embrace the next wave of digital

As a country – we need to stay ahead of the competition.

Next February, South Korea will use their Winter Olympics…

…to give hundreds of thousands of spectators...

…from all over the world, a taste of 5G.

Letting them download an entire film in a second.

Just a small reminder of what’s going on out there and how

high the bar is.

But I’m in no doubt we can reach it if the right decisions are

taken. .

And fifth – housing.

In recent decades, saying we need to ‘build more houses’.

Has become one of the most blindingly obvious statements

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But of course – it’s true.

The lack of affordable homes isn’t just a social issue.

It’s a business one.

In London, for example, people struggle to live near to where

they work

Mobility of people between different UK regions is among the

lowest in the western world, with housing one of the reasons.

So we need to need to fix this.

Business and government working together…

…to build 250,000 new homes a year within a decade.

[2. Don’t put the brakes on]

So from a new runway…

…to roads, railways and fibre-optic cables…

…to hundreds of thousands of new homes.

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There’s no shortage of opportunities.

But in the wake of the election…

…it’s never been more important to keep up the pace.

Not put on the brakes.

Fundamentally – that means working with government…

…through a pro-market, pro-enterprise approach.

Which will fuel the investment and talent we need…

…and get projects off the ground all over the country.

Our call right now, to our new government today,…

… is to get on with the projects you have announced.

Same message to local government.

No pauses, no prevaricating. This is a time to get on with

delivering promises, by all of us.

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And construction, technology, services firms up and down the

country are ready.

They have the people, the plans, the ambition.

They just need the green light – do not turn it to orange or red.

That’s what will keep confidence high and investment flowing.

And that right now is exactly what we need.

PAUSE

I finally want to turn to some of the other ideas that business

has to unlock to start a golden age of infrastructure.

Let’s start with investment.

Government is looking for the private sector…

…to invest more than half…

…of the £300 billion needed by 2021.

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That’s a big ask.

Now – there’s some ‘good news’…

…and some ‘bad news’.

The ‘good news’ is that there’s no shortage of money to invest.

Large pools of global funding looking for stable returns.

This money can go anywhere in the world…

…and we need to make the choice to invest in the UK an easy

one.

But the ‘bad news’ is that obstacles are still getting in the way.

Putting the brakes on this investment.

One such obstacle is risk.

Potential investors need more certainty…

…the right levels of risk sharing, particularly on new projects...

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….and funding structures with the right balance of risk and

return.

Political and regulatory risk are also a concern.

As ever – investors want to see…

…long-term stability in the markets.

Yet – in the election campaign…

…we heard some pretty strong rhetoric…

…around plans for political intervention in ‘broken markets’.

Now – as business, we do need to reflect…

…on how we got to this point.

And what we can do to win back people’s trust.

But government, regulators and industry…

…also need to come together…

…to attract investment and put consumers first.

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Energy is the obvious example.

In 2014, the energy sector invested over £15 billion in the UK.

That’s more than £500 for every household.

And – looking ahead – they’ll need to invest billions more…

…to replace old power plants…

…and decarbonise our energy supply.

Yet – just as we’re asking business to invest huge sums…

…policies like price caps on energy, which are vague on detail

but big on headlines…

…will create uncertainty…

…knock confidence…

…and risk deterring investment.

What we really need is…

…business and government….

…to have an honest conversation with consumers…

…about why bills are rising …

…and how to manage them in the long-term.

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And government needs to work with business…

…to ‘fill in the blanks’ on how this policy will work…

…and provide the certainty investors are looking for.

Yet there’s another issue.

No amount of money will matter…

…if we don’t have the people…

…who can actually build our roads, homes, runways and

railways.

Look at any number of infrastructure projects…

…and you’ll see training schemes dedicated to growing talent…

…right here in the UK.

And – in 2015 – British firms…

…invested over £45 billion on training and skills.

But – even with this…

…firms are still facing shortages across the board.

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We don’t just need engineers…

…but brick-layers and other skilled trades…

…to turn our infrastructure ambitions into reality.

Let’s be clear.

Firms want a managed migration system…

…which restores public confidence.

But staying open to the world…

…is part of the solution.

The new immigration system must let those firms…

…building HS2 and Heathrow’s new runway…

…get the people they need from around the world.

A blunt migration cap…

…is not the answer.

Instead – government should work with business…

…to discuss who is going to build the infrastructure we need,

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how we train them, what new model is going to balance the

twin needs of public confidence and the needs of our economy.

I firmly believe a solution can be found.

[Conclusion – a ground-breaking partnership]

So – to finish off

After a historic general election…

…it’s time to put the economy back at the top of the agenda.

Infrastructure renewal – in particular – is one of the biggest

opportunities we have

If we get this right – the benefits to society are incalculable.

In the short run, an economy that will be humming. Investment

brings confidence.

In the longer run, new homes for people, easier journeys to

work, better public services, a stronger economy.

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To get there…

…we need a foot on the accelerator rather than the brake

For business to invest on an unprecedented scale…

…there must be sufficient regulatory stability.

For firms to build infrastructure like never before…

…they need the people to do so

And for us to find the best solutions…

…we need a new partnership between business and

government.

Let’s make the partnership the best in the world.

A model for the future.

A new kind of collaboration between…

…public and private…

…the politicians and the builders

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So – together – let’s seize this opportunity…

…and make the golden age of infrastructure a reality.

Thank you.

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