Presidential Roundtable summary: the UK’s second National Infrastructure Assessment – what needs to happen next?

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) was established in 2015 to provide the UK government with independent, evidence-based advice on the country’s economic infrastructure needs.

The latest in the NIC’s advice, the second National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA2), was published in October 2023.

NIA2 has been described as the most comprehensive review yet of how investing in infrastructure will support regional growth and help the UK reach net zero.

NIA2 shows how long-standing challenges, including limited grid capacity, poor road and rail connectivity, and the high cost of building infrastructure in the UK, are holding back progress.

Greater policy certainty, faster decision-making, stable regulation, and a more effective planning system are all part of the solution.

There was clear support from senior industry figures for the NIC’s vision and recommendations, which are based on a 30-year time horizon.

The discussion primarily covered:

• What needs to happen now that NIA2 has been published?
• With a general election on the horizon, what needs to be done to ensure the recommendations are adopted by all political parties in full?
• How can the infrastructure sector get better at controlling the costs of major infrastructure projects, particularly in light of the scale of investment required?