TO BE PUBLISHED July 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for the delivery of major transport projects in the UK. Delegates will assess priorities for project delivery and capacity, governance and assurance, planning and consenting reform, funding and investment models, and environmental requirements and climate resilience.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implications of the Government-commissioned Stewart Review: Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance - which examined governance and assurance arrangements for major transport schemes through an analysis of HS2 - alongside next steps following the recently published progress report on the Government Major Transport Projects Evaluation Review Action Plan.
With the Stewart Review expected to inform next steps for strengthening delivery frameworks across the major project pipeline, delegates will assess practical issues for implementation of recommended changes to governance, assurance, and delivery structures in a timely and effective way. The agenda will consider this alongside the role of UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy in setting out a more integrated approach to long-term infrastructure planning, funding, and delivery.
Taking place amid ongoing reform to planning and development, including implementation of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and updated National Policy Statements, and in the context of the Better Connected strategy for integrated transport, sessions will consider wider implications for project delivery. Areas for discussion include consenting processes, co-ordination across the transport project pipeline, and the pace and cost of delivery. We also expect discussion to look at potential opportunities for stakeholders through the role of major transport schemes in supporting wider economic and social objectives.
Project delivery, capacity, delivery confidence & pipeline coordination
The agenda will examine the delivery of current and planned major transport projects, including HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing, alongside planned programmes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail. Discussion will assess the management of progress, risk and delivery performance, and what can be learned for advancing schemes across the wider pipeline.
In anticipation of the forthcoming Civil Engineering Market Study, sessions will consider options for improving market interactions between public bodies and suppliers. Priorities for pipeline visibility, sequencing and coordination will be considered in relation to supporting industry readiness and more consistent, cost-effective delivery, as well as for regional capability and place-based outcomes. Attendees will also assess approaches to addressing capacity constraints across the system, including workforce availability, skills development and pressures within supply chains, as highlighted in updates to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority Infrastructure Pipeline.
Delegates will look at implications of the Government’s response to the Transport Committee’s Skills for Transport Manufacturing report, which acknowledged significant skills gaps across the sector but did not commit to new sector‑specific measures. What this means for industry readiness and long‑term capability will be discussed - taking account of the Government’s acceptance for a proposed competency passport and rejection on re-introducing Level 7 apprenticeship funding for all ages.
Further discussion will focus on cost control and delivery certainty - including addressing factors contributing to cost escalation, schedule slippage and risk aversion, as well as their effect on confidence in project delivery over time. Delegates will discuss priorities for project governance and financing structures - alongside approaches to managing inflation and scope - that could better support reliability of outcomes. Attendees will also consider the role of NISTA in project assurance, approvals and oversight of the long-term infrastructure pipeline, including how its approach may need to develop to support timely decision-making, stronger co-ordination, and greater certainty for delivery bodies and investors.
Governance, oversight, assurance & investment
Ways forward for improving governance will be discussed, following concerns highlighted in the Stewart Review, alongside findings from the National Audit Office and HM Treasury’s Office for Value for Money that current arrangements for overseeing major projects can lead to fragmented decision-making, unclear accountability, and inconsistent assurance processes. Sessions will consider options for designing more proportionate and flexible approaches, including how governance and assurance structures might be simplified, responsibilities clarified, and capability strengthened within sponsor bodies and delivery organisations.
Following recent publication of the Progress report on the Government Major Projects Evaluation Review Action Plan, delegates will review current progress and discuss the impact of ongoing collaboration between the Evaluation Taskforce, HM Treasury and NISTA in strengthening evaluation requirements across major projects. Attendees will consider next steps for delivering outstanding commitments originally due by March 2026, including work on strengthening governance and scrutiny and building system‑wide capability. Discussion will also look ahead to the ETF’s comprehensive follow‑up review of major project performance - expected to culminate in a formal report by March 2028 - assessing evaluation coverage and quality across the Government Major Projects Portfolio.
The balance between pace, scope and affordability in project development will also be considered, including concerns around the pressures that delivery timelines and evolving requirements can put on cost control and design excellence. Attendees will assess what changes to governance, incentives and organisational culture may be needed to support more disciplined project development and more consistent outcomes.
The agenda will draw on latest thinking on improving cost control amid persistent cost overruns undermining value for money - as reported by OVfM - examining issues of optimism bias in price and schedule estimations, and ways to mitigate cost escalations and scope creep throughout project lifecycles.
Sessions will also explore the design of new Public-Private Partnership models - as set out in the Government’s Infrastructure Strategy - introduced with aims to supplement public funding commitments in the 2025 Spending Review and Autumn Budget, with discussion on shifts to budgeting controls, stop-start cycles, and ways to address funding instability and support equitable allocation of risk.
Planning & consenting
As provisions in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 come into force - including reform to the consenting process - sessions will assess what is further needed to tackle planning and consenting barriers to major transport projects in England, and approaches moving forward for mitigating delays while maintaining opportunity for engagement and scrutiny. With ongoing revisions to the National Policy Statement for Ports and National Airports Policy Statement - and in the context of wider reform to the National Planning Policy Framework - discussion will consider priorities for sectoral consent frameworks and wider regulation to support project delivery, enhance procurement pathways, mitigate risk, and assist in reducing delays.
Potential implications of the Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport for transport planning will be examined, looking at recommendations for optimising decision-making and appraisal, priorities for co-ordination within the transport project pipeline, and expectations for alignment with growth and development objectives - such as embedding transport and development into investment programmes and planning frameworks.
Environmental protection & climate resilience
Further sessions will assess requirements for environmental mitigation and compensation, including implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, and the role of the Nature Restoration Fund. Attendees will look at implications for project planning, consenting, costs, and mechanisms for compliance and oversight to address the balance between streamlined consenting and robust environmental protections.
In light of the recently published Climate adaptation strategy for transport, delegates will discuss ways forward for embedding sustainability objectives and climate resilience into project governance, finance and delivery, as well as the role of cross-sector collaboration in managing interdependencies between infrastructure sectors.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include a parliamentary pass-holder from the House of Commons and officials from the Department for Transport; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Infrastructure, NI; Department for Business and Trade; National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority; Office of Rail and Road; Transport Scotland; National Audit Office; Planning Inspectorate; National Wealth Fund; and the Welsh Government.
