Balfour Beatty has welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May's signals to prioritise infrastructure projects, increase house-building and devolve powers to regions and cities outside London as part of the Government's Industrial Strategy.

In its report 'The Industrial Strategy - a Vision for Growth', the company said infrastructure development "has the potential" to stimulate the economy in the short term as well as offset uncertainty and support long-term productivity.

However, the company warned that if European workers leave the UK as a result of Brexit, plans for major infrastructure projects will be in jeopardy.

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It said: "Given the number of major infrastructure projects in the pipeline, uncertainty around the free movement of labour could cause the industry recruitment and staffing difficulties and may increase costs where demand for labour outstrips supply and the subsequent risk of project delays.

"This will be particularly relevant for mega projects such as High Speed 2 (HS2) and the nuclear new build programme. An early and integrated policy response to both retain the skills of those who have migrated here and to ensure that the UK remains an attractive place for talented people to reside should be a key element of Government's industrial strategy.

"It will be important however, that BEIS works closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade in considering this point."

(LM/MH)