NIC seeks views on how to assess Britain’s infrastructure needs

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is seeking views on how it should go about evaluating Britain’s infrastructure needs and the ways they can be met.

The commission has been tasked by the government with carrying out a National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) – which will be used to inform decision making – and has launched a consultation on the methodology it plans to use.

In the first phase of the assessment process the commission will determine a “long-term vision” for the UK up to 2050, “priority areas for action” over the medium-term and “options to address the needs identified”. They will be outlined in the ‘Vision and Priorities’ documents due to be published in summer 2017.

In the second phase it will hold a public consultation on the “vision” that is outlined, before publishing the full assessment in 2018. The assessment will contain the commission’s final conclusions on Britain’s infrastructure needs and priorities as well as recommendations on how they can best be met.

Among the sectors the commission will examine will be energy, transport, water and drainage and flood defences. It will not only look at individual sectors but will also examine cross-sector issues such as local growth, sustainability, and funding and financing.

The commission said it plans to use a variety of methods to engage with stakeholders and the wider public. In addition to holding a consultation, the commission expects to run a “large-scale call for evidence” in the coming autumn; hold expert roundtables to hear opinions on specific areas of interest; conduct social research to gauge the views of the public; and make use of panels of experts to scrutinise the evidence it collects.

Interim NIC chair Lord Adonis said: “Developing the National Infrastructure Assessment will be an enormous piece of work. Every aspect of the UK’s economic infrastructure will need to be studied, assessed, and understood.”

He added: “The commission will seek to draw together expertise across every relevant sector, alongside unique and independent analysis to develop an assessment of the nation’s infrastructure of the highest possible standard.”

“We do not take this task lightly. Indeed, the final assessment will represent a world-first.”

The consultation on the assessment methodology closes on 5 August.

In February the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called for the NIC to be given “sharp teeth” to ensure it can deliver key water and energy projects.