Chancellor Healey prioritises private investment

In his inaugural speech, new Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey outlined a clear vision for stimulating private investment in the UK. Speaking for the first time since his appointment in July, Healey announced plans to reform the Treasury Green Book, which plays a crucial role in guiding public project evaluations based on value for money. This reform will see a change to the discount rate that influences assessments, aiming to better support long-term projects while incorporating a deeper analysis of the economic potential within business case decisions made by the government.

Commenting on these changes, Craig Elder, Partner in the government team at Browne Jacobson, said “Reforming the Treasury Green Book's discount rate and introducing economic potential analysis into government business case decisions is a welcome signal, but it risks being insufficient without a credible vehicle to deliver investment at the scale the country needs.”

Elder further highlighted the pressing issue of the UK’s investment landscape, stating “The UK has had the lowest investment in fixed assets within the G7 over the past 20 years. Changing the way government appraises projects is a start, but investors need more than revised criteria – they need a structured framework for partnering with the public sector.”

The absence of a formal public-private partnership (PPP) model since the end of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in 2018 has hampered efforts, while other countries like Canada and Australia have effectively utilised such models to deliver numerous infrastructure projects. Elder noted, “The PPP concept is a simple one – private capital funds the upfront costs of a public infrastructure project and recoups this and agreed interest over time – but its mechanics can vary significantly across different models.”

In light of this, he suggested that the government could benefit by learning from previous frameworks like PFI and PF2, calling for principles such as “proportionate risk allocation, auditable social value, and strengthened governance and accountability.”

The Chancellor’s acknowledgement of the need for the private sector to flourish positions the upcoming Autumn Budget as a pivotal moment for aligning government ambition with a robust PPP framework. Elder remarked, “The Autumn Budget is the moment to match that ambition with a modern PPP framework that gives investors the long-term certainty they need to back Britain's infrastructure.”

At the UKREiiF 2026 event, the CBI and Browne Jacobson presented a report entitled ‘Pipeline to Progress: Making UK Infrastructure Investable’, which serves as a strategic guide for developing modern PPPs. This blueprint is built around six essential pillars: standardised national legal architecture, proportionate risk allocation, auditable social value, flexible financial structures, strengthened governance and accountability, and a clear delivery pipeline coordinated through mayoral and combined authorities.