Infrastructure advisor calls on government to form clear plans and stick to them

Government advisor, the National Infrastructure Commission, has forecast a need for private investment in water to rise to £12bn a year for the period 2025-30 for the sector to meet the needs to increase water supply, reduce demand, and tackle pollution. And it pressed future governments to form clear plans for infrastructure and stick to them.

In the second of the commission’s five-yearly National Infrastructure Assessments (NIAs) it has warned that success in bringing the required investment into the UK against global competition will depend on taking a “new approach” in policy, regulation and planning for all infrastructure development.

It called for:

• stable policy with government “setting out a clear plan and sticking to it,” to give investors certainty and to help in the building of supply chains;

• “pro-investment regulation” with clear guidance from government on priorities, investment ahead of need and business models to support emerging technologies; and

• faster planning for major projects, with regularly updated National Policy Statements from government, more effective sharing of environmental data and clearer community benefits in return for hosting key infrastructure.

In the NIA report, the commission said while its recommendations on private investment were likely to add to household water bills, it found that the average household will save “at least £1,000 per year by the mid 2030s” from phasing out fossil fuels and moving to low-carbon electricity.

The commission proposed closing the water supply gap by building more water supply infrastructure, reducing leakage and by introducing compulsory water metering in a bid to reduce water demand by 2025.

It proposed also:

• devolved funding to local authorities to work with relevant agencies on forming joint surface water flood risk plans that are underpinned by data sharing to protect more properties from this growing risk; and

• a long-term, stable programme of investment in river and sea flood risk management over the next 30 years, with measurable targets to reduce the number of properties at risk.

The commission said its report drew on “two years of analysis, expert engagement and public research,” and was “probably the most comprehensive assessment yet of the infrastructure costs associated with supporting regional growth and reaching net zero” according to commission chair, Sir John Armitt.

The NIA report includes a call to cut usage and increase supply by:

• ensuring that at least 1,300 Ml a day is provided by the mid 2030s through new transfer and supply infrastructure through the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development and Price Review process; and

• progress towards the water industry’s objective to halve leakage from 2017-18 levels by 2050.

The report emphasised the need to identify future telecommunications needs of the water sector “given the role of digital connectivity in delivering critical functionality and strategic objectives.