The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its recommendations on 21 May 2026, following an 11-month market study into civil engineering across the public road and rail sectors. Approximately £19 billion was spent on public road and railway infrastructure in 2023/24, excluding HS2. External research referenced in the regulator's report suggested governments across the UK could save up to £5 billion annually if procurement and delivery practices were improved. The CMA attributed the current cost inflation directly to short-term contracting approaches and a lack of long-term pipeline visibility for suppliers.
Among its key recommendations, the CMA called on HM Treasury to take central oversight responsibility for sector-wide reform, and on the UK Government, working with devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, to publish a long-term strategic plan for civil engineering in road and rail with annual progress updates. Additional recommendations included introducing clearer multi-year project pipelines, reforming procurement practices to encourage competition and innovation, and improving skills and capacity within public bodies responsible for commissioning infrastructure projects, measures the CMA argued would help firms invest in staff, technology, and long-term capacity by providing greater certainty over future work.
The ProcureScore View
The CMA's findings are a significant moment for public sector procurement reform in the UK and carry direct implications for how infrastructure procurement functions are assessed, resourced, and digitized.This also indicates the need for reforms and better transformation approach in public sector procurement. The core diagnosis suggests fragmentation, short-term engagement, and lack of pipeline visibility, which maps precisely onto the ProcureScore's L1 and L2 maturity profile that characterizes most public sector procurement functions on ProcureScore's assessment framework. These are not technology failures; they are governance and process maturity failures that technology alone cannot fix.