The Treasury has today announced that Jim Hall, Kate Willard OBE and Nick Winser CBE have been appointed as new Commissioners to sit on the National Infrastructure Commission.
Each has been appointed by the Chancellor for a five-year term and will begin work with the Commission on 1 May. Nick will replace Professor David Fisk CB, who is stepping down, as Commissioner with lead responsibility for energy, while Jim and Kate will add their expertise to the Commission’s work on the relationship between infrastructure and the environment, and local and regional policy.
At the same time, existing Commissioners Neale Coleman CBE, Julia Prescot and Andy Green CBE have been re-appointed to the Commission for further five year terms.
Welcoming the appointments, National Infrastructure Commission Chair Sir John Armitt said:
“I am pleased to welcome Nick, Kate and Jim to the Commission at a critical time for ensuring long term infrastructure policy helps address some of society’s biggest challenges. Their expertise will be particularly useful as we work towards publication of the second National Infrastructure Assessment next year.
“I would also like to pay tribute to David Fisk as he steps down from the Commission. David has helped us chart the steps necessary to deliver a low carbon future for energy and the interventions needed to safeguard the resilience of vital services upon which we all rely. We wish David all the best for his future work in infrastructure and beyond.”
More about the new Commissioners:
Jim Hall FREng is Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks in the University of Oxford and is Director of Research in the School of Geography and the Environment. Before joining the University of Oxford in 2011 to become Director of the University’s Environmental Change Institute, Prof Hall held academic positions in Newcastle University and the University of Bristol. Professor Hall is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and is Expert Advisor to the National Infrastructure Commission. He is Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). He was a member of the UK independent Committee on Climate Change Adaptation from 2009 to 2019.
Kate Willard OBE is Chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board and the Government appointed Thames Estuary Envoy. She has lived and worked in Hungary, France and Belgium, established the first UK-Hungarian cultural partnership trust and was CEO of the UK’s first rural regeneration company. Kate is on Arts Council England’s National Council, and chairs both Arts Council Area Council North and the Board of Teesside International Airport. She is a Churchill Fellow and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Nicholas Winser CBE brings extensive experience in energy systems, markets and regulation with a 30-year career in the energy sector which included CEO of National Grid across UK and Europe, President of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity and CIGRE UK Chair. He has been the chairman of Energy Systems Catapult since 2015, was appointed chairman of the Advisory Board for the Energy Revolution ISCF programme in 2018, and served on the Advisory Panel for the Cost of Energy Review in 2017. He is also a member of the Net Zero Expert Group which advises the Secretary of State. Nick is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, serving as its President in 2017/18.
Further details about the appointment process can be found on the Treasury’s website.
