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Former Network Rail boss says infrastructure plans are failing businesses

Former Network Rail boss Sir John Armitt has called for a National Infrastructure Commission to drive forward the UK’s needs.

Labour tasked the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority with reviewing the country’s infrastructure planning, and Sir John has criticised the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan suggesting it is not strategic.

Katja Hall, CBI chief policy director, said: “The World Economic Forum downgrade of UK infrastructure competitiveness sends a clear message that we need to rise above the parliamentary cycle to take some important strategic decisions to plan for the next 30 years.

“An independent Commission would ensure that politicians could no longer duck the difficult infrastructure questions which our long-term economic prosperity depends on.

“But we do need to make sure that if an independent Commission were to be introduced it wouldn’t cut across decisions already underway, like the Davies review of aviation.

“This report is a thoughtful contribution to the debate about the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and should be considered by all political parties.”

Tony Dolphin, IPPR’s chief economist, said: “Underinvestment in infrastructure has been an important element of the UK’s poor historical record on investment spending. As a result, much of the UK’s infrastructure is now creaking. In the calculations for its 2012-13 Global Competitiveness Index, the World Economic Forum ranks the UK 24th in terms of the quality of overall infrastructure.

“The Government’s National Infrastructure Plan amounts to a wish-list of projects that it would like to see delivered, but – with over 80 per cent of the pipeline having to be funded by the private sector – it falls far short of a plan for delivering them.

“The independent National Infrastructure Commission proposed by Sir John would represent a significant improvement on current arrangements, enabling projects to be prioritised and ensuring a degree of pressure on government to improve its record on delivery.

“If the UK is to have a world-class infrastructure, it has to be prepared to spend more money on it. Sir John’s recommendations, if implemented, might see future governments devote more resources to spending on infrastructure. But the missing element remains a plan to increase investment spending by the private sector.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .