CIOB reacts to HS2 scaling back announcement

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has reacted to the Prime Minister's announcement that the HS2 rail project will be scaled back.

Eddie Tuttle, Director of Policy, External Affairs and Research at the CIOB, said: “Long-term infrastructure projects, like HS2, employ large numbers of skilled workers and apprentices and go some way to securing a pipeline of consistent work for the construction sector.

"It is well recognised that the built environment industry works best when it has certainty in policy making and investment, so we hope the HS2 funding is reinvested into similar projects which will support the upskilling of the construction workforce, particularly in the north of England, where such investment is so vital for the levelling up agenda.

“In a time of economic uncertainty, where we are witnessing supply-chain collapse, it is now more necessary than ever for Government to commit to public sector projects that benefit not only the local workforce and their communities but also the wider economy.

"It's therefore important Government moves quickly to provide more detail on the plans it now has to improve the transport infrastructure in the north and communicates with the construction sector which will be responsible for delivering them.”