A new Ipsos MORI survey of Captains of Industry finds industry leaders strongly of the view that their company would have more opportunities to improve if the country’s transport network was better. 79% of Captains say their company has been caused difficulties by Britain’s transport network. A similarly high proportion, 74%, say that their company would have more opportunities to improve if the transport network was better. 98% agree that Britain needs to improve its transport network to compete with businesses across the world, 62% doing so strongly.

1. 1
February 2018
Captains of Industry
Britain’s infrastructure

2. 2
Methodology
Ipsos MORI conducted 100 interviews with
respondents from the top 500 companies by
turnover, and the top 100 by capital employed in
the UK. 94 answered questions about
infrastructure.
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 (7 were carried out over the telephone)
between September and December 2017.
Full details are available at www.ipsos-mori.com

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Key findings
Captains of Industry are
more likely than the public
to prioritise the resilience
and quality as future
considerations for
infrastructure.
They are less likely to give
top weight to the
environment and
investment (paying more
now to avoid paying later).
78% of Captains say their company has
been caused difficulties by Britain’s
transport network.
Three-quarters say they would have
more opportunities to improve if the
transport network was better.
There is a near-universal view that
Britain needs to improve the network to
compete globally.
Infrastructure Transport

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Disruption
Legacy
Resilience
Environment
Investment
Quality
Public
Captains of
Industry
36
Future factors
Q. Which of the following factors do you think
are the most important for Britain to consider
when putting together plans for infrastructure in
the future? Please rank the following…
% ranking factor as
most important
(1st out of 6)
(all figures for Captains
of Industry)
Factor
Disruption: the amount of
disruption we have to deal with (e.g.
roadworks, disruptions to water
supply) while infrastructure is built
or improved
Legacy: the infrastructure that we
pass on to future generations
Resilience: how well our
infrastructure stands up to
challenges today and in the future
(e.g. population increases and
climate change)
Environment: the impact our
infrastructure has on our
environment
Investment: paying for the costs of
improving and building new
infrastructure now, to avoid having
to pay more later
Quality: making sure that
infrastructure is as good as it
possibly can be (e.g. in terms of
speed or convenience of services)
Base: 1,004 GB adults (online), Aug-Sept 2017,
94 Captains of Industry Sept - Dec 2017
12
932
26

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Disruption
Legacy
Resilience
Environment
Investment
Quality
Public
Captains of
Industry
1
Future factors
Q. Which of the following factors do you think
are the most important for Britain to consider
when putting together plans for infrastructure in
the future? Please rank the following…
% ranking factor as
least important
(6th out of 6)
(all figures for Captains
of Industry)
Factor
Disruption: the amount of
disruption we have to deal with (e.g.
roadworks, disruptions to water
supply) while infrastructure is built
or improved
Legacy: the infrastructure that we
pass on to future generations
Resilience: how well our
infrastructure stands up to
challenges today and in the future
(e.g. population increases and
climate change)
Environment: the impact our
infrastructure has on our
environment
Investment: paying for the costs of
improving and building new
infrastructure now, to avoid having
to pay more later
Quality: making sure that
infrastructure is as good as it
possibly can be (e.g. in terms of
speed or convenience of services)
41
5
13
10
24
Base: 1,004 GB adults (online), Aug-Sept 2017,
94 Captains of Industry Sept - Dec 2017

6. 6
My company would have
more opportunities to
improve if the transport
network was better
Britain’s transport network
causes no difficulties for
my company
Britain needs to improve
its transport network to
compete with businesses
across the world
9%
13%
79%
Transport as block to business Strongly/tend to agree
Strongly/tend to disagree
Base: 94 Captains of Industry, Sept - Dec 2017
98%
74%
20%
5%
1%1%
Neither/don’t know
Figures may not sum to 100% due to
rounding

7. 7
Last year we found Captains of Industry
strongly backing Government action to
upgrade our infrastructure. This put them in
tune with public opinion who also wanted to
see a step-change and extra investment. But
some of the Captains’ top infrastructure
priorities – airports and broadband – did not
match those of the public. This year we find
business giving greater weight than society
to resilience as a factor to consider when
planning for the future, and less to the
environment.
Just as we have detected an increase in the
salience of rail infrastructure as a priority
among the public, we see a clear view among
these important businessmen and women
that our transport network hinders their
company’s opportunities to grow.
Ben Marshall,
Research Director,
Ipsos MORI Infrastructure
ben.marshall@ipsos.com

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Captains of Industry – infrastructure, 2017
Further information
Public – Global Infrastructure Index, 2017
Public – Global Infrastructure Index, 2016
https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/ipsos-mori-captains-
industry-place-infrastructure-top-their-wish-list
http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/oct-2017/rail-
overtakes-housing-top-infrastructure-priority
http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/oct-
2016/infrastructure-plans-%E2%80%93-public-says-
%E2%80%9Cget-it-do-it-right%E2%80%9D
https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/rail-joins-housing-top-
infrastructure-priorities-britons
https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/captains-join-public-
prioritising-housing-infrastructure
https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/do-more-poll-shows-
britons-behind-action-infrastructure

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and stakeholder insights supporting infrastructure design, delivery, marketing and evaluation.