Ask the Expert – How Can Councils Sustain Infrastructure and Capital Delivery? Wed, 29 Apr

Local government plays a central role in delivering the infrastructure that underpins thriving places from housing and regeneration to transport and community facilities. Yet councils are facing growing challenges in sustaining delivery.

New research from SCAPE and the LGIU, based on a survey of senior officers from councils across England, reveals that delivery of major infrastructure and capital projects is increasingly under strain often long before construction begins.

The findings show that over 40% of senior local authority officers do not believe their council is well positioned to deliver its current infrastructure and capital ambitions, and a similar proportion lack confidence that delivery momentum can be sustained over the next two years given the current policy and funding environment.

This joint LGIU and SCAPE session will explore the pressures councils face at every stage of project delivery, from early scoping and business cases to procurement and market volatility, and consider what is needed to strengthen delivery capability.

Drawing on the report Delivering Through Change, the discussion will bring together local government leaders and delivery partners to examine how councils can navigate uncertainty, build resilience into project pipelines, and ensure long-term ambitions translate into outcomes on the ground.

Key areas

The state of infrastructure delivery in local government
What the research tells us about councils’ current confidence in delivering major capital and infrastructure projects.

Why projects stall before construction begins
Exploring the early-stage barriers including scoping, business cases, procurement complexity and access to commercial expertise.

Policy uncertainty and funding pressures
How inflation, market volatility and stop–start national policy affect councils’ ability to plan and maintain project momentum.

The impact of devolution and local government reorganisation
What structural change could mean for councils’ capacity to deliver infrastructure and capital programmes.

Strengthening delivery capability
How councils, national government and delivery partners can work together to improve project readiness, procurement routes and long-term delivery resilience.

Speakers

As Deputy Chief Executive, Caroline is responsible for the strategic growth of SCAPE, strengthening relationships with the framework partners, and ensuring the organisation’s valued clients benefit from operational excellence and high levels of service delivery on all frameworks. Caroline formerly held the position of Public Sector Director at Osborne, where she orchestrated strategic initiatives in the residential and education sectors. Prior to this, she served as the Head of Construction at the Cabinet Office, expertly collaborating with various government departments to implement the Government Construction Strategy.

Jon joined LGIU in the summer of 2025 as Head of Research following over a decade of experience in local government in South Yorkshire and London. He has extensive experience of senior management and high-profile roles in councils related to population level research, academic partnerships, insight development for policy making and strategy development, change management and service improvement. Jon is responsible for the organisation’s research and insight function, leading the portfolio of LGIU’s research partnerships and managing the Local Democracy Research Centre.

Dr Jonathan Carr-West has been Chief Executive of LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) since February 2013 where he leads on all aspects of the think tank’s policy, membership and influencing work.

Jonathan is a leading national expert on local government transformation, local democracy and public services. Some of his particular interests are in participative democracy, the evolving nature of public services and devolution. With an extensive media profile and sector credibility, he has published on topics as diverse as localism and public service transformation, cognitive and behavioural science, and the politics of cultural memory.

Partners

Established in 2006 by six local authority shareholders, any surplus income they make is returned to the public sector – meaning they don’t just work with the public sector, they are the public sector.

They understand the challenges you face – from social value in construction to becoming net zero carbon neutral – and have developed solutions to support our shared ambitions. Threy're a not-for-profit organisation providing procurement frameworks, that enable public sector organisations to deliver their essential projects – compliantly and collaboratively, with community at their heart.