Infrastructure Strategy 2027-2037: consultation

Introduction

Scotland’s Infrastructure Strategy will set out a 10-year framework (2027-2037) to guide infrastructure planning, investment, and delivery across the country. It is designed to ensure decisions are strategic, place-based, and outcome focused, supporting inclusive economic growth, enabling the transition to net zero, and strengthening national resilience in the face of demographic, environmental, and economic change.

The Infrastructure Commission for Scotland^[1] (ICfS) played a pivotal role in shaping the Scottish Government’s current Infrastructure Investment Plan (2021-2026) and continues to inform the development of this Strategy. Our Infrastructure Improvement Programme, supported by the Scottish Futures Trust, continues to build on ICfS’s guidance, including the development of a system-wide infrastructure Needs Assessment to inform future investment decisions. This Strategy re-affirms our commitment to the Commission’s recommendations by maintaining their core themes, Net Zero and environmental sustainability, Inclusive Growth, and Resilient Places, and applies to them a place-based, outcome-focused lens that ensures continuity and coherence across planning cycles.

The strategy provides the context for future Spending Reviews and Budget decisions. It is underpinned by robust governance principles and a common investment hierarchy that prioritises making best use of existing assets before considering new infrastructure.

The three long-term, infrastructure-related outcomes that were suggested by the ICfS support the wider outcomes of the Scottish Government:

• enabling net zero and environmental sustainability;
• driving economic growth; and
• building resilient and sustainable places

To deliver these outcomes, the strategy is structured around three enablers:

• public assets – ensuring Scotland’s infrastructure estate is well-managed, maintained, and aligned with modern service delivery models;
• place-making – embedding local priorities and spatial planning into infrastructure decisions, in line with the Place Principle and National Planning Framework 4; and
• private investment – creating the conditions to attract and unlock private capital to complement public funding and accelerate delivery.

The enablers are the crucial levers to deliver the Strategy’s long-term outcomes.

The focus on infrastructure specific priorities ensures decisions are grounded in long-term evidence and system-wide needs rather than short-term political cycles or individual policy agendas. By doing so, the Strategy provides continuity and stability, enabling investment choices that deliver public value across sectors and regions.

The Strategy is informed by the 30-year Needs Assessment^[2], developed by the Scottish Futures Trust, which is Scotland’s first assessment of long-term need covering economic, social and natural infrastructure. Using available evidence and futures thinking to identify cross-cutting themes as well as sectoral opportunities and challenges, the Needs Assessment sets a long-term context and suggests areas to consider now to make our infrastructure resilient and appropriate for long-term future need. The Needs Assessment is published alongside this Infrastructure Strategy, and its analysis should be considered alongside this consultation.

The Strategy also draws on insights from the Scottish Government’s 2024-2025 Horizon Scanning Project^[3] to anticipate future trends and disruptions, ensuring infrastructure remains adaptable and future proofed. It recognises the importance of spatial equity, community empowerment, and regional collaboration in shaping infrastructure that delivers for all of Scotland’s people and places.

This document sets out the scope, priorities, and governance arrangements for infrastructure investment over the next decade and invites views on how best to ensure it delivers long-term public value.

The draft Strategy is intended as a consultation document and therefore focuses on high-level priorities and principles rather than detailed portfolio plans. The final Strategy, to be published later in 2026, will provide greater detail on public assets, sector specific investment priorities, and portfolio level strategies to guide implementation. This approach ensures that stakeholder feedback informs development of a comprehensive and actionable Strategy.

Our infrastructure strategy – at a glance

Vision

Our infrastructure supports resilience, net zero and inclusive growth

Scope

• 10-year strategy informed by 30-year national needs assessment
• Covers economic, social and natural infrastructure
• There will be no pipeline of projects as this will be published separately

Three outcomes

• Enabling net zero emissions and environmental sustainability
• Driving inclusive economic growth
• Building resilient and sustainable places

Three enablers

• Public Assets
• Private Investment
• Place-making

More

First ever 30-year national Needs Assessment – This sets the context for future proofing decisions.

Horizon scanning for future trends – Incorporates insights from the 2024-2025 Horizon Scanning Project to anticipate disruptions and ensure adaptability in infrastructure planning.

Investment Hierarchy embedded in governance – Reinforces the presumption in favour of maintaining and repurposing existing assets before building new ones, embedding this principle into governance and business case processes.

Place-based approach as a core principle – Commits to aligning infrastructure decisions with local priorities and spatial planning, with Place Principle and National Planning Framework 4.

Strong focus on private investment and innovation – Sets out mechanisms to unlock private capital, including innovative financing models and regulatory reforms, to complement public funding and accelerate delivery.