The UK government has launched a new body to oversee the delivery of the government’s infrastructure plans. Here’s what it will do.
The UK government has created a new infrastructure body in preparation for its 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy (10YIS) coming in June 2025.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) combines the functions of two organisations:
- The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), an external body that assessed the government’s progress on infrastructure plans and offered advice and recommendations.
- The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), which sat within the government and supported the delivery of major infrastructure in the UK. It also engaged with other governments around the world to share and learn from best practice.
NISTA sits within HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. It's responsible for social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc.), as well as economic infrastructure (water, energy, transport, etc.).
On 16 April 2025, NISTA announced that ICE Fellow Becky Wood is to lead the new infrastructure body as CEO from June 2025.
Wood is currently a partner at consultancy EY and has previously acted as a commercial advisor for the IPA. She has a decade of experience with the Department for Transport, overseeing major infrastructure developments such as Crossrail and Thameslink.
History
The Labour Party first revealed plans to create the ‘new, powerful’ NISTA in its election manifesto in June 2024.
Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed these plans in a speech on 11 October 2024.
He said NISTA would “bridge the gap between what we build and how we build it” and address past failures in infrastructure delivery.
Why was NISTA created?
By merging the NIC and the IPA into a single body, the government hopes to improve the delivery of major capital projects.
These include some of the biggest, most challenging schemes, such as High Speed 2 (HS2).
To achieve this, Jones has said NISTA will have “a strong mandate” and be subject to direct oversight from ministers at the centre of government.
During his speech in October 2024, Jones outlined three key aims for NISTA:
- Develop and implement the government’s next infrastructure strategy
- Unlock private investment in infrastructure
- Streamline planning to speed up the consenting process for major projects
We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that infrastructure operates as a system that delivers services to people and the economy – not as a disconnected stack of projects. That’s why the words Service Transformation in NISTA’s name are so consequential.
ICE President Professor Jim Hall, for the Foundation for Science and Technology
What does NISTA mean for the NIC and IPA?
The ICE has warned that NISTA shouldn’t lose the benefits of the independent, impartial advice provided by the NIC.
To this end, NISTA has set up a Council of Expert Advisors to help the body deliver on its objectives.
The council chair is Sir John Armitt, ICE Past President and previous chair of the NIC.
Other members include:
- Julia Prescot
- Sir Tim Besley
- Neale Coleman
- Michele Dix
- Andy Green
- Professor Jim Hall
- Sadie Morgan
- Kate Willard
- Nick Winser
Most of the council appointments are until 31 December 2025. A process for appointing new members will be launched in due course.
Infrastructure takes a long time to materialise – across multiple parliaments – so it is important that the long-term impartial advisory role that the NIC embodied persists into NISTA.
Prof Hall, for the Foundation for Science and Technology
Meanwhile, moving the IPA into NISTA creates opportunities to strengthen some of its roles and share best practice in delivery across the government and around the world.
This could include following the Construction Playbook, attending the Major Projects Leadership Academy and continuing the work of the IPA International Unit.
Drawing on insight from industry experts, the ICE has provided six key recommendations to ensure NISTA and the government’s 10YIS are successful.
You may also be interested in
- Type
- Civil Engineer blog
Does asset maintenance need a fairy godmother?
If maintenance is the Cinderella of infrastructure, engineers can be the ones to reveal its potential, write Professor Jim Hall and Dr Janvi Shah.
- Type
- Awards and competitions
Last chance to enter the British Construction and Infrastructure Awards
The deadline for award submissions has been extended to 23 May.
