Britain must establish an independent National Infrastructure Commission to end decades of drift and delay on major infrastructure decisions, according to a Labour-commissioned review carried out by Sir John Armitt.

The report by Armitt, who led the delivery of the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympics and their long-term legacy, was commissioned by Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Ed Balls last year.

Its core recommendation is an independent Commission – appointed by government and opposition parties – to identify the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and monitor the plans developed by governments to meet them. The Commission would consider how the UK’s future needs could be met in a targeted and efficient manner with value for money being a primary consideration.

The report argues a new approach is needed to prepare the country for the major challenges ahead, such as population growth and climate change. The comprehensive review examined the difficulties faced by successive governments in making long-term decisions to meet these challenges under the current system.

The Armitt Review makes the following core recommendations aimed at achieving cross-party political consensus, public support and investor certainty for long-term decisions on the UK’s energy, transport, water, waste, flood defences and telecommunications needs:

· A new independent National Infrastructure Commission to look 25-30 years ahead at the evidence for the UK’s future needs across all significant national infrastructure and set clear priorities, for example, nationwide flood prevention or energy supply.

· This National Infrastructure Assessment would be carried out every 10 years and include extensive research and consultations with the public, local government, NGOs, regulators and other interested groups or individuals.

· A Parliamentary vote on the evidence-based infrastructure priorities would have to take place within six months of their publication, to avoid delays.

· Within 12 months of this vote Government Departments would have to form detailed 10 year Sector Plans of how they will deliver and fund work towards these priorities.

· Parliament would then vote on these 10 year plans and the permanent National Infrastructure Commission would scrutinise the ability of these plans to meet the 25-30 year national priorities and report to Parliament annually on their delivery.

Sir John Armitt said:

“Over the last 40 years UK infrastructure has fallen behind the rest of the world and is increasingly struggling to cope with the demands we make of it. An infrastructure fit for the future must now be a national priority alongside education and health and a new independent National Infrastructure Commission is a way of delivering this improvement with the vital support of the public and politicians of all parties.

“London 2012 proved we are capable of planning and delivering complex and innovative infrastructure projects with local and national cross-party support. We did it right for the Games and now we need to apply the lessons we’ve learned to other areas and services we need to improve to cope with the challenges ahead.

“We have the Victorian pioneers to thank for the infrastructure that has underpinned the quality of life for our generation. It is up to us to lay the ground for the next pioneers who will create the innovative systems and services that will serve future generations.”

Ed Balls MP, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said:

“For decades successive governments have all too often ducked and delayed the vital decisions we need to make on Britain’s long-term infrastructure. This excellent report sets out a clear blueprint for how we can better identify, plan and deliver our infrastructure needs.

“The Olympics showed what can be done when there is cross-party consensus and a sense of national purpose. Now we need that same drive and spirit to plan ahead for the next thirty years and the needs of future generations.

“I’m grateful to Sir John Armitt and his advisory panel for all their work over the last year. We urge the government to work with us to implement this report as quickly as possible.”

Thoughtful

The CBI said the report is a “thoughtful” contribution to the debate on infrastructure. 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.”

Infrastructure deficit 'holding UK back'

Director of external affairs for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Alasdair Reisner said:

“CECA has campaigned for many years for greater consistency in infrastructure policy. We believe that strategic decision-making on infrastructure projects cannot be hostage to the electoral cycle if it is to be effective in the longer term.

“As Sir John Armitt argues, successful infrastructure planning requires a decision-making horizon of at least 25-30 years. Creating an independent body on a statutory basis would enable infrastructure planning to formulate policy on a cross-party basis in the national interest.

“The UK’s infrastructure continues to underperform when compared to our competitors. This year, the overall quality of our infrastructure was adjudged to have slipped to a disappointing 28th of 148 competitor countries - despite our status as the world’s sixth largest economy.

“We must address the UK’s infrastructure deficit, which is holding us back in the global race.

“We challenge all political parties to work together to put in place proposals that will achieve the objectives outlined in today’s report.”

Role of sustainable development?

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has raised issues over the report, questioning the role of localism agendas and managing demand for infrastructure.

Ralph Smyth, Senior Transport Campaigner for CPRE says:

“Increasingly decisions on major infrastructure are being justified on the somewhat tenuous basis of a “global infrastructure race”. This is not the right way to plan effectively. Putting infrastructure planning on a proper long-term footing is infinitely preferable than simply trying to “keep up with the Joneses”. Also, we should not forget the lessons of the Infrastructure Planning Commission, an unelected body that had to be disbanded shortly after it was set up."

CPRE is issuing two tests in advance of the report, one procedural and one substantive:

- Will the review’s proposals mean another head on collision between the infrastructure and localism agendas? We should learn from the new French system of infrastructure planning and make sure there is genuine public participation at a stage when all options are still open.

- Will the review’s proposals prioritise big kit infrastructure over genuinely sustainable development? The review needs to recognise the need for managing demand as well as supplying new infrastructure. Simply building new infrastructure is not going to tackle long-term problems such as climate change or congestion.

Ralph Smyth concluded: "We need better processes for delivering the infrastructure the country needs. But in a small, crowded and democratic country it is vital that major decisions are taken following meaningful public engagement, including proper consideration of alternatives. Any attempt to impose big schemes will result in a backlash, making it far harder to get the right decisions make. We hope that Sir John Armitt and his colleagues recognise this."