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Regional water plans a positive step towards drought resilience for England
Commitments by water companies to take action together to secure long term water supplies for consumers and businesses in England have been welcomed by the Commission as an important step towards achieving long term resilience to drought. Consultations are now underway on new draft water resource management plans by the five regional water resources groups....
Commission to open new office in Leeds
The National Infrastructure Commission has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement today (20 December 2021) that the Commission will open a new office in Leeds by the end of 2023. The new office in Yorkshire will form the base for around 40 per cent of the Commission’s secretariat in the future, with others continuing to work from...
Frank debate on costs and expectations needed to prepare infrastructure for climate change
A public debate needs to be held on the right level of investment that today’s consumers and taxpayers can be expected to pay to prepare key national infrastructure for climate risks of the future, the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission has told a Parliamentary committee. Sir John Armitt told MPs and Peers that on...
Dreaming of a green Christmas in 2035
Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will mean that Christmas is likely to look very different within the next 15 years. By 2035 – half way between today and the legally binding 2050 deadline for the UK to hit net zero – the UK will need to have cut emissions by 78% compared...
“A realistic plan for major long term investments”: Commission responds to Integrated Rail Plan
Responding to the government’s publication of its Integrated Rail Plan, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission Sir John Armitt said: “We now have a realistic plan for major long term investments to improve rail for the North and Midlands in the face of public spending constraints. In our advice to government the Commission made the...
Commission pinpoints strategic gaps in infrastructure planning ahead of next landmark national assessment
The National Infrastructure Commission has announced the topics that will sit at the heart of its next major assessment of the UK’s long term infrastructure priorities, to be published in 2023, following analysis of the current performance of key sectors. The priorities will include identifying the infrastructure needed for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage...
Welcome spending plans should “support a more stable national infrastructure planning cycle”
Responding to today’s Budget and Spending Review, Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “With reasonable capital settlements for key areas including local transport outside London, and an increase in the guidelines for projected infrastructure spending for the long term, these announcements indicate a government keen to support a more stable national...
Commission to investigate surface water flooding risks
The government has asked the independent National Infrastructure Commission to investigate how the risks of surface water flooding can be better managed, following a spate of inland flooding incidents in recent months. The Commission will seek to identify improvements needed to England’s drainage systems to manage and mitigate surface water flooding in both urban and rural areas. Surface water flooding is the most common flood...
“The priority now is to get on with it”: Sir John Armitt responds to government’s net zero strategies
The government has today (19 October 2021) published a number of documents setting out commitments to support the transition to a lower carbon economy. Responding to publication of the Heat and Buildings Strategy, Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “Kick starting the heat pump market to reduce costs for households to...
Fundamental shift in funding to local level needed to help level up English towns
Levelling up towns will require a shift in government’s approach from announcing multiple ringfenced pots of money – many of which councils must compete over – to instead handing power to local areas to deliver their own infrastructure strategies with five-year devolved budgets, according to the UK’s official infrastructure advisers. In a report launched today...
Government accepts Commission’s recommendations for better resilience
The government has today (15 September 2021) published its formal response to the Commission’s 2020 study on resilience, Anticipate, react, recover – Resilient infrastructure systems. This study called for a new framework for resilience which anticipates future shocks and stresses; improves actions to resist, absorb and recover from them by testing for vulnerabilities; values resilience...
Hydrogen strategy “an important milestone” but clarity on costs needed soon
The Commission has welcomed today’s publication (17 August 2021) of the government’s UK hydrogen strategy and associated consultations, noting that the outcomes of the latter will need to address the challenges of reducing the cost of hydrogen production and ensuring a fair distribution of those costs. Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission,...
Government responds to Commission’s study on future of freight
The government has today (4 August 2021) published its formal response to the Commission’s 2019 study, Better delivery: the challenge for freight. This study found that through the adoption of new technologies and the recognition of freight’s needs in the planning system, it is possible to decarbonise road and rail freight by 2050 and manage...
Government must get UK ahead of the game in crucial engineered removals sector
The UK government must commit to the wide-scale deployment of new greenhouse gas removal technologies by 2030 in order to meet its climate change obligations, according to a report by the National Infrastructure Commission. The report sets out how the engineered removal and storage of carbon dioxide offers the most realistic way to mitigate the final slice of emissions expected to remain by the 2040s from sources...
Climate resilience focus welcomed in proposed water strategic policy statement
The National Infrastructure Commission has welcomed aspects of the draft Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat, published today (22 July 2021). The statement sets out the government’s strategic priorities and expectations for Ofwat’s regulation of the water sector in England. Giles Stevens, Director of Policy at the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “Strategic policy statements play an...