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James Heath speech to Infrastructure Forum Annual Policy Summit
James Heath, Chief Executive of the National Infrastructure Commission, addressed the Infrastructure Forum Annual Policy Summit yesterday (29 September 2020). His speech explored the importance of a long term strategy for infrastructure planning, the tests which the Commission will apply to the government’s forthcoming National Infrastructure Strategy, and the key policies the Commission recommends is...
My first 100 days
100 days ago, I took up my post as Chief Executive of the NIC. Like others who have changed jobs during the crisis, I’ve been navigating the challenge of being away from a tangible office environment and getting to know my new team through calls and computer screens. While it’s been a rather unconventional start, I join at a time when the Commission’s work has never...
Can data help make our crucial infrastructure even more resilient?
Now more than ever we can see the importance of data to help us anticipate, react, and recover from infrequent but potentially devastating events. But this is not just true of pandemics: data can help us to manage direct shocks to infrastructure as well. During the current crisis, our infrastructure systems have generally stood up...
Forecasting a changeable outlook
You don’t have to be a trained weather forecaster to note that the weather in the UK is changing. The scientific consensus is that we will see an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events as a result of climate change. The UK government has legislated for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by...
Metering will save us water sooner
It’s not surprising that household water consumption has surged during the Covid19 lockdown. We’re washing our hands more than ever, and many of us are home all day using our bathrooms and kitchens. But even before lockdown, some of us were already using more water than we need – by taking long showers, watering our...
How can infrastructure improve competitiveness?
Looking beyond the urgent priorities raised by the present pandemic, Commission Economic Advisor Beth Horsman introduces a new discussion paper exploring the vexed subject of competitiveness and its implications for long term infrastructure planning. When you think of competitiveness, what sort of images spring to mind? Furiously fought sporting fixtures; athletes training for competitions; a...
Infrastructure and the efficient delivery of new housing
This blog post relates to the new paper Infrastructure to support housing. We often hear that Britain is in the midst of a housing crisis. The government aims to tackle it by building one million homes in England over the next five years, with the annual build rate rising towards its 300,000 homes target. This...
James Heath appointed National Infrastructure Commission’s Chief Executive
James Heath, currently Director of Digital Infrastructure at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Infrastructure Commission. James led DCMS through the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review and Telecoms Supply Chain Review, and had overall responsibility for broadband, mobile and telecoms security policy, and the Government’s...
A Day in the Life of our CEO
Our Chief Executive, Phil Graham, leaves the Commission in January 2020 after four years in the role. Phil led the establishment of the Commission and the landmark publication of the UK’s first National Infrastructure Assessment in 2018. Here, he sets out what his typical working day involves. 07.30 Three days a week my day begins...
A renewable future for Britain is about more than meeting net zero
Just a decade ago, the jury was out on renewables. We questioned whether wind and solar would ever be affordable and resilient enough for us to rely on them. But today, it’s a different story. This year has seen a promising milestone in Britain’s transition towards a greener economy. In September, the government awarded Contracts...
Public transport choices and the future of mobility
Much is uncertain about the opportunities and challenges that will be presented by mobility in the future – but the choices that are made by politicians now on how to support effective public transport are sure to be critical, no matter what is ahead. Technological change can come much faster or much slower than expected,...
How do we make better decisions on future infrastructure delivery?
The National Infrastructure Assessment – the UK’s first – set out a clear long-term plan for the UK’s economic infrastructure needs up to 2050. All of its recommendations are affordable within a ceiling of public investment in infrastructure of 1.2% of GDP a year, with a similar amount funded by consumers and bill payers. It...
Ensuring resilience in a highly renewable energy mix
Back in July last year we launched the National Infrastructure Assessment, the first of its kind in this country and of its scope anywhere in the world. It identifies clear priorities for the UK’s economic infrastructure over the coming years and decades, based on a thirty-year forward look at the changing shape of our economy...
Learning lessons from the first National Infrastructure Assessment
Publishing the first National Infrastructure Assessment was a major milestone for the National Infrastructure Commission. It was significant for us as the first of the assessments that we are required to publish every five years reviewing long term infrastructure needs. It was also the first assessment of its kind in the UK. This lack of precedent...
How well connected are our cities?
Discussion about transport investment often focuses on spending over a handful of years, whether that be on a specific scheme or within a certain area. To some extent, these short-term comparisons are probably unavoidable. But it’s a poor way of assessing the overall state of transport when the networks on which people rely have been...