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The UK government has set out its long-term approach to improving the nation’s infrastructure.
Announced by the Treasury and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy is a 106-page document that sets out the government’s plans to overhaul and improve the UK's infrastructure.
It also includes economic infrastructure such as roads, railways and energy, and social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
The plans are backed by at least £725 billion of government funding over the coming decade. At least £9 billion of this will be allocated in 2025-26 to address the critical maintenance needs of health, education & justice estates, rising to over £10 billion per year by 2034-35.
The strategy specifically addresses the issue of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) within public sector buildings, particularly in the health estate. By 2035, all NHS buildings will be free of RAAC, according to the strategy.
Investment in schools and colleges is also a key pillar of the strategy, with £3 billion per year to be spent on improving the education estate through the School Rebuilding Programme. 500 schools are already named on the scheme, but new funding will allow a further 250 schools to enter the programme.
The document states that the Department for Education is currently procuring its next construction frameworks for contractors to deliver the work. New buildings delivered under the School Rebuilding Programme will be net-zero in operation, citing Deyes High School in Merseyside a success story for sustainable design – one of the first schools in the UK to receive investment from the School Rebuilding Programme. The school has a sustainable drainage system, solar panels, heat pumps, enhanced wall, floor and roof thermal performance and natural ventilation.
Schools and colleges have also been earmarked for renewable energy generation. The education estate alone has over 55 million square metres of roof area, and the Department for Education is already installing rooftop solar panels on around 200 schools.
In terms of the justice estate, £600 million each year will go towards safety and security improvements in prisons across England and Wales, and to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031. Court facilities will also be enhanced to help reduce the current backlog, which stood at 73,105 criminal cases in England and Wales crown courts in September 2024, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
The plan will also support the delivery of 1.5 million new homes this Parliament, through the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme and with investment from a National Housing Bank, a new institution that will operate as a subsidiary of Homes England.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “Infrastructure is crucial to unlocking growth across the country, but for too long investment has been squeezed. Crumbling public buildings are a sign of the decay that has seeped into our everyday lives because of a total failure to plan and invest.
“We’re not just fixing buildings – we’re enhancing public services, improving lives and creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth in communities throughout the UK.
“This will deliver the decade of national renewal we promised Britain, and fulfil our Plan for Change goals to kickstart economic growth, and build an NHS fit for the future.”
Picture: a photograph of Rachel Reeves. Image Credit: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4031/portrait via an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 23 June 2025
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