Captains join public in prioritising housing infrastructure

• Captains of Industry put airports and broadband top of their infrastructure wish list; both are low priorities for the public
• But new housing supply is seen as a priority by both groups
• A majority of business leaders think we are not doing enough to meet our infrastructure needs as a country
• Most think we have a poor record at getting infrastructure right

A new Ipsos survey of Captains of Industry finds that industry leaders’ top priorities for investment are very different to those of the British public.

The findings come from the annual survey of FTSE 500 business leaders which found them putting encouraging investment in infrastructure at the top of the list of policies they think should be included in the Government’s new Industrial Strategy.

The study’s findings chime with those from an Ipsos survey of the public, also undertaken in late 2016. Business and public sentiment is aligned in several key respects. Both think that as a country we are not doing enough to meet our infrastructure needs and investing in infrastructure is vital to Britain's future economic growth. Captains’ hold these views even more strongly than the public.

But there are also sharp differences in opinion. The British public want their voices to be heard, with 67% agreeing that delays to infrastructure projects are justified if it means that local communities’ views can be heard properly. Captains are less insistent; only 40% hold this view and 43% disagree.

Business leaders are also even more negative about Britain’s record on infrastructure. 69% think that Britain has a poor record at getting national infrastructure projects right compared to just under half, 48%, of the public.

Most striking, however, are the different priorities both groups have. While flood defences feature highly among the public’s wish-list – 45% choose this – only 19% of Captains thing it should be a priority for investment. The gap is larger for high speed broadband (32% vs 80%) and airports (14% vs 66%).

Neither the public nor Captains prioritise water supply and sewerage, but new housing supply is among their top three.

Commenting on the findings, Ben Marshall, Research Director for Infrastructure at Ipsos, said:

“This survey among Captains of Industry shows strong backing for Government action to upgrade our infrastructure. These important businessmen and women are in tune with public opinion who also want to see a step-change and extra investment. But there are challenges because what business leaders want in practice – airports and broadband – does not overlap with public priorities. All are agreed, though, on the importance of new housing supply.”

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Technical Note

• Ipsos Captains of Industry place infrastructure at the top of their wish list

Survey of Captains – Ipsos conducted 114 interviews with respondents from the top 500 companies by turnover, and the top 100 by capital employed in the UK. Respondents were Chairmen, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors/Chief Operations Officers, Financial Directors, or other executive Board directors. Interviews were primarily carried out face-to-face (8 by telephone) between September and December 2016.

Survey of general public – Ipsos interviewed 1,001 adults aged 16-65 across Britain, online, between 26 August – 9 September 2016. Data is weighted to the known population profile. This was a global study involving the same survey being conducted via Ipsos Global @dvisor in 26 countries. It was published last year.

Ipsos Infrastructure works with infrastructure leaders to provide community, customer, and stakeholder insights supporting infrastructure design, delivery, marketing and evaluation.