The proposed National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista) would “better support the delivery of major capital projects”
Announcing Nista at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREIIF), Labour shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset how infrastructure is delivered, and public services are upgraded. We will call time on an era of Tory chaos, waste and decline.
“Our new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority will be laser-focused on delivery and play a critical role in setting the path we need to drive growth.
“A Labour government will get Britain building again.”
Tackling inertia in planning with industry support
The decision to merge to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) into a “new, powerful” organisation is influenced by the findings of Labour’s Major Capital Projects Review, which is supported by experts from National Grid, Mace, Jacobs, Skanska and others.
Labour said that Nista will focus on “tackling the inertia at the heart of government to get Britain building again” and will “be given new powers and an updated mandate to drive more effective delivery of major projects and infrastructure across the country”.
Overseen by a board that includes external experts, Nista will be jointly accountable to the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.
It will continue the work of the IPA on digital transformation, housing “a new directorate with a remit to overhaul the assurance of major technology and service transformation programmes, ensuring their delivery reflects the practices used by the most successful organisations of the internet era”.
Nista will “better support the delivery of major capital projects”
Katy Dowding, chief executive of Skanska, said: “Creating a new organisation, capable of marrying strategy and delivery is a positive step forward for business.
“It is imperative that delivery is prioritised and that there is a clear focus on building new infrastructure.
“Doing this will encourage confidence back into a market that has been volatile for too long”.