National Infrastructure Commission

Last updated

National Infrastructure Commission
National Infrastructure Commission logo.png
Executive agency overview
Formed5 October 2015 in interim form (5 October 2015 in interim form)
24 January 2017 (as an executive agency of HM Treasury) (24 January 2017 (as an executive agency of HM Treasury))
Jurisdiction United Kingdom
Annual budget£5.7m [1]
Minister responsible
Executive agency executives
Parent Executive agency HM Treasury
Website www.nic.org.uk

The National Infrastructure Commission is the executive agency responsible for providing expert advice to the UK Government on infrastructure challenges facing the UK. [3] [4]

Contents

Inaugurated in 2015, and established as an executive agency of HM Treasury in January 2017, one of its main tasks is to undertake a national infrastructure assessment during each Parliament. It also undertakes studies in specific areas of infrastructure. The Commission makes recommendations to the government, and monitors the government's progress on infrastructure.

Purpose and history

The Commission is the body responsible for providing independent analysis and advice to the Government to ensure the UK meets its long-term infrastructure needs. Its role is to support sustainable economic growth across all regions of the UK, improve competitiveness, and improve quality of life. It was established in October 2015. Chancellor George Osborne appointed Lord Adonis as interim chairman. [4] In January 2017 the Commission was established as an executive agency of HM Treasury. [5] [6] In April 2017, Lord Adonis and Sir John Armitt were confirmed as the first permanent chair and deputy chair respectively, and four new commissioners (Dame Kate Barker, David Fisk, Andy Green and Julia Prescot) were appointed. [7] Lord Adonis resigned in December 2017 citing concerns over Brexit and was replaced by former deputy chair, Sir John Armitt. [8] Barker stepped down as a commissioner in March 2020, [9] and Fisk stepped down in April 2022. [10]

In May 2024, ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party announced plans to merge the Commission with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in order to speed up the delivery of major infrastructure projects in the UK. The new body would be called the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). [11] [12] In October 2024, Armitt's chairmanship was extended by six months to oversee development of a 10-year strategy and NISTA's creation. [13] NISTA will be established in April 2025 and will be a joint unit of the Treasury and Cabinet Office, with Darren Jones as the responsible minister. [14]

Structure

Commissioners

As of 21 August 2022. [15]
  • Sir John Armitt – serves as chair (to July 2025) [16] [13]
  • Professor Sir Tim Besley (five-year appointment confirmed in September 2020) [17]
  • Neale Coleman (appointed in September 2020; [17] five-year reappointment confirmed in April 2022) [10]
  • Michèle Dix (appointed in October 2023) [18]
  • Andy Green (five-year reappointment confirmed in April 2022) [10]
  • Professor Jim Hall (appointed in April 2022) [10]
  • Sadie Morgan (five-year appointment confirmed in September 2020) [17]
  • Julia Prescot (five-year reappointment confirmed in April 2022; [10] appointed deputy chair in January 2023 through to January 2027) [16]
  • Kate Willard (appointed in April 2022) [10]
  • Nick Winser (appointed in April 2022) [10]

Secretariat

The commissioners are supported by about 40 people who work in the secretariat, made up of civil servants, including economists and policy generalists, as well as secondees from industry.

Activities

National Infrastructure Assessment

One of the NIC's main tasks is to undertake a national infrastructure assessment each parliament, making recommendations to the Government and then hold the Government to account on implementation. The Assessment looks at the UK’s future economic infrastructure needs up to 2050 and makes recommendations for how to deliver new transport, low carbon energy and digital networks, how to recycle more and waste less, and how future infrastructure should be paid for. It aims to ensure the UK is prepared for the technological advances that will change how the country operates. The first National Infrastructure Assessment was published in July 2018, [19] and the second was published in October 2023. [20]

Studies and reports

The commission has published reports on infrastructure in the UK as well as recommendations for its improvement.

Smart Power (March 2016)

The first report, published in March 2016, looked into the UK energy market, exploring how supply and demand can better be balanced as well as making recommendations for future infrastructure programmes. [21] [22]

Transport for a World City (March 2016)

The second report explored options for improving transport within and around the London area and strongly advocated the construction of Crossrail 2 as its main proposal. [23]

High Speed North (March 2016)

This report explored options for improving connectivity across the North of England. Options include High Speed 3, upgrades to the motorway network, investment in conventional railways and a new Trans-pennine Tunnel. [24]

Connected Future (December 2016)

Connected Future explored what the UK needed to do to become a world leader in 5G deployment and take early advantage of the potential applications of 5G services. The commission found that Britain was 54th in the world for 4G and that the UK government and the communications regulator, Ofcom, needed to ensure that essential outdoor mobile services, such as basic, text and data use, were available all across the UK. In anticipation of 5G, the UK had to improve mobile connectivity on railways, roads and in towns and cities. [25]

Data for the Public Good (December 2017)

In November 2016, the government asked the commission to conduct a new study on how technology can improve infrastructure productivity. The study was published in December 2017. [26]

Preparing for a drier future (April 2018)

Published ahead of the National Infrastructure Assessment, this study set out the Commission’s advice on how to address England’s water supply challenges and deliver the appropriate level of resilience for the long term. [27]

Better Delivery: the challenge for freight (April 2019)

This study identified actions to enable UK’s freight networks to meet growing demands for fast deliveries and reduce their impact on congestion and the environment. [28]

Strategic investment and public confidence (October 2019)

In October 2018, the government asked the Commission to conduct a new study into regulation of the UK's energy, telecoms and water industries, to ensure the necessary levels of investment and innovation. The study report, Strategic investment and public confidence, was published in October 2019, [29] and said the UK's regulatory system must "adapt to meet the demands of the future" by providing regulators such as Ofgem with new powers to ensure utility investments in sustainable infrastructure. Without such powers, it said the UK would be unlikely to meet its zero emissions target by 2050. [30]

Resilient infrastructure systems (May 2020)

The study considered what action government should take to ensure that the UK’s infrastructure can cope with future changes, disruptions, shocks and accidents. It looked at how resilience can be assessed and improved, including through better design and application of new technologies. [31] The report, Anticipate, React, Recover: Resilient infrastructure systems, [32] prescribed a new framework to help support change across infrastructure sectors; it called for transparent standards of appropriate service levels, stress testing for major incidents and clearer direction for utilities providers to invest in long-term resilience. [33]

Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North (December 2020)

This NIC report [34] set out options for a programme of rail investments in the Midlands and the North, using five packages and three different illustrative budget options. [35]

Related Research Articles

The Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), created in July 2001 and disbanded in July 2022, was the executive department of the British Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning in the UK. The role of the secretariat was to ensure the United Kingdom's resilience against disruptive challenge, and to do this by working with others to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover. Until its creation in 2001, emergency planning in Britain was the responsibility of the Home Office. The CCS also supports the Civil Contingencies Committee, also known as COBR.

Sir Gareth Gwyn Roberts was a Welsh physicist specialising in semiconductors and molecular electronics, who was influential in British science policy through his chairmanship of several academic bodies and his two reports on the future supply of scientists and how university research should be assessed. He was knighted in 1997 for his services to higher education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Armitt</span> English civil engineer

Sir John Alexander Armitt is an English civil engineer, and current chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate Change Committee</span> UK Climate Change public body

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change. The Committee provides advice on setting carbon budgets, and reports regularly to the Parliaments and Assemblies on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, in 2019 the CCC recommended the adoption of a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom by 2050. On 27 June 2019 the British Parliament amended the Climate Change Act (2008) to include a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The CCC also advises and comments on the UK's progress on climate change adaptation through updates to Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis</span> British politician and journalist (born 1963)

Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, is a British Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Blair ministry and the Brown ministry.

The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative is a bipartisan, collaborative group in the United States that aims to "accelerate the pace of change that results in meaningful ocean policy reform." The Joint Initiative was established by the members of two major U.S.-based oceans commissions: the Pew Oceans Commission and the United States Commission on Ocean Policy. It was originally co-chaired by former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James D. Watkins, chairs of the Pew and U.S. Ocean Commissions, respectively. Currently, the Joint Initiative is led by a Leadership Council, which is co-chaired by Christine Todd Whitman, former EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush and former governor of New Jersey, and Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton and Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</span> German research institute

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a German government-funded research institute addressing crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts, and sustainable development. Ranked among the top environmental think tanks worldwide, it is one of the leading research institutions and part of a global network of scientific and academic institutions working on questions of global environmental change. It is a member of the Leibniz Association, whose institutions perform research on subjects of high relevance to society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office for Budget Responsibility</span> Advisory non-departmental public body in the UK

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is a non-departmental public body funded by the UK Treasury that provides independent economic forecasts and independent analysis of the public finances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Conduct Authority</span> British financial regulator

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Bowler (civil servant)</span> Senior British civil servant

James Edward Bowler CB is a senior British civil servant currently serving as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022 having previously served as permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade since 2021. Before assuming this role, Bowler was the second permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2020 to 2021 where he led the COVID Taskforce for the British Government. He was the Director General for Policy, Communication and Analysis at the Ministry of Justice from March to October 2020. Bowler is currently Trustee of the charity Police Now.

The Airports Commission was an independent commission established in September 2012 by the Government of the United Kingdom to consider how the UK could "maintain its status as an international hub for aviation and immediate actions to improve the use of existing runway capacity in the next 5 years". Alongside the proposal to build HS2, the question of how to make best use of and expand airport capacity had become the UK's most significant infrastructure issue over the preceding few years.

The Social Mobility Commission (SMC), formerly the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission (2012–16) and originally the Child Poverty Commission (2010–12), is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Education (DfE) in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural Capital Committee</span> UK government committee (2012–2020) advising on natural capital

The Natural Capital Committee (NCC) was an independent body set up in 2012, initially for a three-year period, to report to the UK Government and advise on how to value nature and to ensure England's 'natural wealth' is managed efficiently and sustainably. During its first term it produced three reports to government on the 'State of Natural Capital'. It has called on the Office for National Statistics to integrate the state of the country's natural assets into mainstream national accounting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Powerhouse Rail</span> Proposed railway network in the North of England

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is a proposed major rail programme designed to substantially enhance the economic potential of the North of England. The phrase was adopted in 2014 for a project featuring new and significantly upgraded railway lines in the region. The aim is to transform rail services between the major towns and cities, requiring the region's single biggest transport investment since the Industrial Revolution. The original scheme would have seen a new high-speed rail line from Liverpool to Warrington continuing to join the HS2 tunnel which it would share into Manchester Piccadilly station. From there, the line would have continued to Leeds with a stop at Bradford. The line was intended to improve journey times and frequency between major Northern cities as well as creating more capacity for local service on lines that express services would have been moved out from.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is the United Kingdom government's centre of expertise for infrastructure and major projects. The IPA sits at the heart of government, reporting to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. The core teams include experts in infrastructure, project delivery and project finance who work with government departments and industry.

Sadie Anna Morgan is an English designer. In 1995 she founded dRMM, the RIBA Stirling Prize winning architecture practice, with Alex de Rijke and Philip Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Jones</span> British politician (born 1986)

Darren Paul Jones is a British politician who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024, having previously been Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament for Bristol North West since 2017. He previously chaired the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee from 2020 to 2023.

The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway was a proposed grade-separated dual carriageway between the A34 near Oxford and the A14 near Cambridge, via Milton Keynes. The road would have provided an outer orbital route around London, as well as connecting major growth areas in the region.

Transforming Infrastructure Performance is a British government report on the UK construction industry issued by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in December 2017. Its aim was to improve productivity in the sector and make savings of £15 billion per year. It proposed to do this by increasing innovations like off-site construction and new digital technology, improving government procurement procedures, and improving integration and collaboration. It was seen as a welcome initiative by the industry, and early implementation of its aims has been incorporated into the water industry's 2019 price review.

James Hall, is Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks in the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford., where he leads the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Engineering Science and Fellow of Linacre College. Hall is a member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology, commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission, and is President of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the year November 2024 to October 2025. He was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010. He was a member of the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the UK Climate Change Committee from 2009 to 2019, and was chair of the Science and Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis from 2020 to 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Corporate Plan" (PDF). NIC. p. 16.
  2. ↑ "HM Treasury has appointed James Heath as the new CEO of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC)". Gov.UK. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Osborne launches National Infrastructure Commission". BBC News . BBC. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "About – National Infrastructure Commission". gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Governance". National Infrastructure Commission.
  6. ↑ "The UK's first ever National Infrastructure Assessment enters new phase – National Infrastructure Commission".
  7. ↑ "Adonis appointed as permanent chair of National Infrastructure Commission". Infrastructure Intelligence.
  8. ↑ "Read Lord Adonis' letter to PM in full as Labour peer quits as Govt's infrastructure tsar". Sky News.
  9. ↑ "Dame Kate Barker steps down". WiredGov. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Boost for National Infrastructure Commission with new appointments". H M Treasury. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Labour vows to break ‘inertia’ of UK infrastructure delivery, Financial Times. 23 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Gayne, Daniel (24 May 2024). "Labour would merge National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure and Projects Authority". Building. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Armitt's NIC retirement delayed". The Construction Index. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  14. ↑ Gayne, Daniel (22 January 2025). "Reeves' number two to be lead minister for new infrastructure body". Building. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Who we are". National Infrastructure Commission.
  16. 1 2 "Armitt reappointed to Infrastructure Commission". The Construction Index. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 Browne, Dom (30 September 2020). "Olympics alumnus becomes NIC expert commissioner". Transport Network. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  18. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/michele-dix-appointed-to-the-national-infrastructure-commission
  19. ↑ "National Infrastructure Assessment 2018". National Infrastructure Commission.
  20. ↑ "Second National Infrastructure Assessment". National Infrastructure Commission. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "SMART POWER" (PDF). 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Smart energy could save £8bn a year, say advisers". BBC News . British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "TRANSPORT FOR A WORLD CITY" (PDF). 9 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "HIGH SPEED NORTH" (PDF). 14 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Connected Future – Completed Study – National Infrastructure Commission".
  26. ↑ "Data for the Public Good". National Infrastructure Commission.
  27. ↑ "Preparing for a drier future: England's water infrastructure needs". National Infrastructure Commission.
  28. ↑ BETTER DELIVERY: THE CHALLENGE FOR FREIGHT
  29. ↑ "Regulation". National Infrastructure Commission. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  30. ↑ "Ofgem 'needs reform' for UK to meet net zero goal". ReNews.Biz. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  31. ↑ "Resilience Study". National Infrastructure Commission.
  32. ↑ "A duty to prepare: vital infrastructure must be ready for the future, finds Commission (28 May 2020)". National Infrastructure Commission. NIC. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  33. ↑ O'Connor, Rob (27 May 2020). "Key infrastructure must remain resilient, says NIC". Infrastructure Intelligence. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  34. ↑ "Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North: Final report". National Infrastructure Commission. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  35. ↑ "HS2 eastern leg downgrade 'will short-change millions'". BBC News. BBC. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.