Bringing together two bodies – the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA), NISTA will accelerate the delivery of major government projects – ‘supporting delivery of our roads, railways, schools and hospitals – by overcoming barriers, and providing expertise on private finance’, alongside developing and implementing the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
HM Treasury explained that NISTA – which ‘launched’ on 1 April – ‘will look to fix the foundations of our infrastructure system by bringing strategy and delivery under one roof, addressing the systemic delivery challenges that have stunted growth for decades’.
HM Treasury explained: “Transforming the way we plan for and deliver major projects is essential to the government’s number one mission to grow the economy, and is key to delivering on our Plan for Change to deliver the 1.5 million homes this country needs, making Britain a clean energy super-power, and improving public services. Over recent years uncertainty about infrastructure plans and policy, and poor delivery, have inhibited investment in programmes and supply chains, pushing up end-costs for consumers.”
Analysis from the Construction Leadership Council of 20,000 projects found those with the best planning at the start had 20 per cent lower costs, and were delivered up to 15 per cent faster. Meanwhile, the 2024 National Infrastructure Commission report on cost drivers of UK infrastructure projects found that ‘a lack of a long-term strategic vision and plan for infrastructure’ was a root cause of higher costs. NISTA and the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will –the Government says – ‘set the long-term plan needed to address many of these issues’.
Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury (pictured) said: “NISTA will get a grip on the delays to infrastructure delivery that for too long have plagued our global reputation with investors. Today we are ushering in a new era for infrastructure delivery, restoring the confidence of businesses to invest and driving a decade of national renewal, powering growth across the country, and delivering on our Plan for Change.”
HM Treasury added that the launch of NISTA was part of ‘a three-pronged approach’ to addressing the fundamental constraints to infrastructure investment, ‘sitting alongside’ the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy – which sets out a long-term plan for the country’s infrastructure, and the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill, ‘to unblock planning constraints’.