UK Project Management Round Up

Project and Economic Outlook

Welcome news for UK Project Managers came when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Alistair Darling, announced the economy had returned to growth for the last three months of 2009, thus ending a recession that has been hailed as the worst the UK has known in the last fifty years.  However, commentators remain concerned that the margin of expansion is significantly below that predicted by the Bank of England and doubts have been cast over the ability of the economy to recover this year.  On the other hand, recent analysis claims the recession is not actually as deep as some in the 1980’s according to the Times’ Economic Editor, David Smith

There are some glimmers of hope on the horizon.  In particular, manufacturers are reported to be moving production back into UK as performance issues over product quality, fluctuating commodity costs and rapidly increasing freight charges make it more attractive to turn to UK factories.  A recent report by the Engineering Employer’s Federation (EEF) and accountants BDO shows that 1 in 7 British companies surveyed had moved production back to UK in the past 2 years.  Furthermore, 7 in 10 companies now believe UK is a competitive location for production compared with just 43% who held optimistic views two years ago.

High Speed Rail

Against this weak economic background, news over the past month shows that increasingly, major infrastructure investment is planned.  Leading the way is the proposed High Speed Two programme which aims to bring fast rail travel along a major new railway line between Scotland and London…

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