In tandem with the Spending Review, the UK Government released the National Infrastructure Strategy (the NIS), setting out its plans to deliver ‘an infrastructure revolution’ that included the requirement that all infrastructure projects have a board-level Design Champion, while NewsBlog readers can learn more in views from legal and construction sectors.
… key area of focus is delivering on the government’s commitment to ‘level up’ …
…ensure the UK is on the path to net zero emissions by 2050…
CMS writes:
….The NIS is the first of its kind and the government’s response to the National Infrastructure Assessment (“NIA”) published in 2018 by the National Infrastructure Commission whose remit is to make recommendations for economic infrastructure investment over the next 30 years. The NIS is expected to be updated every five years in response to future NIAs (the next due to be published in 2023). A raft of other documents was published with the NIS including the Response to the Infrastructure Finance Review, Response to the NIA and revised Green Book with more to follow in 2021.
What does it aim to do?
The NIS sets out how the government will deliver on its commitments to:
- ‘level up’ the country and strengthen the Union;
- ensure the UK is on the path to net zero emissions by 2050;
- support private investment; and
- accelerate and improve delivery of infrastructure.
Infrastructure is the “backbone of the economy”. In recognition of the pandemic’s impact on the way people use infrastructure – trains and planes may have been empty for the majority of 2020 but digital infrastructure has been crucial for communication and in keeping people connected, the NIS aims to put innovation and technology at the heart of the government’s approach. Plus it will support the UK in meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 by decarbonising heat, power and transport networks.
How will it be implemented?
The government plans to deliver the highest sustained levels of public sector net investment as a proportion of GDP since the 1970s by investing over £600 billion over the next 5 years; £27 billion of which will be spent next year on economic infrastructure sectors such as transport, energy and digital communications. Plans for investment (including schools, hospitals and defence) were set out in the Spending Review 2020 taking total investment in 2021/2022 to £100 billion to support economic recovery.
A key area of focus is delivering on the government’s commitment to ‘level up’ the whole of the UK and create a stronger union among England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great nations depend on great infrastructure and the NIS aims to benefit the whole of the UK:
- Where policy is devolved to the Scottish Government for example, Scotland will receive funding through the Barnett formula in line with investment decisions taken by the UK government. Where policy is reserved, such as in the case of digital infrastructure, the UK government intends to improve connectivity for the whole of the UK. The £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme will subsidise the roll-out of gigabit capable broadband to the 20% of areas which are uncommercial for private sector investment. This will particularly benefit rural areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where coverage is very low.
- A new £4 billion cross departmental Levelling Up Fund will invest in local infrastructure and will attract funding for Scotland in the usual way. It also notes that there are 20 City and Growth Deals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (either agreed or in negotiation) committing almost £3 billion of UK Government investment.
- The ambitious Freeports programme aims to bring jobs, investment and prosperity to some of the most deprived communities across the four nations of the UK.
- Major policy interventions will be considered UK-wide. If passed, the UK Internal Market (UKIM) Bill will change the government’s powers to act in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland giving the UK Government concurrent powers to invest in infrastructure and economic development. There are also plans to bring forward a white paper expanding devolution in England.
Opportunities for private sector investment
Both public and private investment in infrastructure is crucial for the UK’s economic recovery. The NIS recognises that approximately half of all infrastructure spending is private (especially in energy, water and telecoms) and with this in mind, the government intends to support private sector investment by creating a new National Infrastructure Bank which will operate UK-wide to co-invest with private-sector partners. It is re-confirmed that the retired private finance initiative model (PFI/PF2) will not be utilised going forward. Rather, the government will focus on developing new revenue support models and consider how existing models such as regulated asset base and contracts for difference can be applied in new areas.
Vision for building faster, better and greener
The effective delivery of infrastructure is critical to the NIS. ‘Project Speed’ was launched by the government in the summer to review every part of the infrastructure project life cycle with the aim of accelerating and improving delivery. Areas such as planning, procurement and streamlining decision making are highlighted as areas for reform. The government wants to deliver the UK’s future key infrastructure – including schools, hospitals and transport – faster, better and greener. All promising steps forward with the NIS concluding by confirming the government’s commitment to fundamentally change the way it considers and deliver infrastructure.
The NIS is to be followed by a series of publications setting out further details on key areas of infrastructure policy, including the Construction Playbook, white papers on energy, English devolution and local recovery, a refreshed Industrial Strategy, union connectivity review and an updated national infrastructure and construction pipeline.
…now a requirement that is all infrastructure projects have a board-level Design Champion…
…four constituents of good design, as defined by the NIC’s Design Principles that Design Champions will be working from and accountable to…
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) writes:
ICE believes the Government has given real hope for the future with publication of the UK’s first ever 30-year strategy for infrastructure.
The strategy, a response to the National Infrastructure Assessment published by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in 2018, sets out how government will use infrastructure to boost economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘level up’ communities across the UK with a £4bn fund. It acknowledges the need to de-carbonise in order to meet the net-zero target by 2050 and tackle climate change, and this will be driven by a new National Infrastructure Bank – something ICE has called on government to establish since publishing our State of the Nation 2018: Infrastructure Investment.
There is genuine cause for optimism that so many of the National Infrastructure Commission’s evidence-based recommendations have been taken on board.
And there is one recommendation in particular that all champions of good design should be truly delighted that government has fully endorsed. It is now a requirement that is all infrastructure projects have a board-level Design Champion, and government has stipulated that these champions be in place by the end of 2021.
A massive opportunity
What an opportunity this is for civil engineers. A genuine opportunity to step up and truly demonstrate how we as profession can deliver infrastructure for people, for places, for climate and, yes, for value. Those are the four constituents of good design, as defined by the NIC’s Design Principles that Design Champions will be working from and accountable to.
ICE is determined that civil engineers embrace this opportunity and we are already working collaboratively with the NIC on a project aimed at helping both organisations understand civil engineers’ views and attitudes towards the principles, and their wider experience of design.
Survey analysis
A survey was launched at a September ICE Strategy Session and, with almost 1,300 responses now analysed, a report into the findings will be published early next year, with recommendations planned for how to roll out a knowledge programme for civil engineers who want to seize this opportunity, fully understand the design principles and put themselves in the pole position to be those design champions.
This opportunity is truly exciting. And with chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that capital spending on infrastructure will total £100bn in 2020/21 alone and outlandish (outrageous even, depending on your viewpoint) schemes such as South Coast Expressways and Irish Sea Crossings under serious consideration, civil engineers will absolutely need to be able to explain how these schemes match up to the NIC’s ideal.
With the emphasis on people and places, public engagement will be to the fore for sure. One of the key findings of our member survey is that this is an area of potential complacency and that is worrying given you do not have to look far for evidence that we as a profession are failing.
Communication is key
Only last week a YouGov poll found that around half of MPs feel that government and other promoters of major infrastructure fail to communicate the importance of these projects to the public.
ICE’s all-new community engagement community of practice will have a key role to play here. As revealed at a Strategy Session last month it is consulting on new principles and we will be working with the NIC to ensure they work hand in glove with its design principles.
And as Stantec civil engineer and community of practice co-chair Monika Szczyrba told the session, engaging with the public is empowering.
“The perception is that it results in delays and bad press. In fact, it is usually the opposite. I have been learning how empowering it can be to place communities at the heart of our projects and decision-making,” said Szczyrba.
“And if your purpose is to serve the communities as best as you can, how can you do that without fully understanding the impact on the public?” she concluded. Perfectly put.
If you are interested in getting involved and connecting with ICE’s growing network of civil engineers and professionals collaborating to build on our design and engagement skills, please contact: knowledge@ice.org.uk.
Read more about the Government’s Design Champions requirements within the infrastructure plan in our Comprehensive Spending Review updates here.
