Responding to today’s Spring Budget, Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said:

Devolution and local transport

“Today’s confirmation of extensions to City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements and multi year single settlements for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester are big strides forward for devolution.

“But trailblazers only warrant the name if others follow the trail. We need to see a rapid widening of devolution to all local transport authorities to help them deliver infrastructure strategies that will enable economic growth, alongside flexibility for combined authorities to determine their own spending priorities within their settlements.”

Carbon capture and storage

“Government has set out a welcome programme of investment on a significant scale. This should help crowd in private investment and build a pipeline of CCUS projects that will play an important role in decarbonising the economy. We now need to get on with the award process as quickly as possible to ensure the UK regains pace in this internationally competitive sector.

“The Commission will continue its own work on the future infrastructure networks needed for CCUS and hydrogen technologies to underpin these emerging markets.”