好色先生TV

The status that recommendations made by the new National Infrastructure Commission will have is still to be determined, according to one of its commissioners and the original proponent of the idea, Sir John Armitt.

Talking to 好色先生TV, Armitt said it was unclear how the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will interact with government, and what measures would be in the forthcoming bill designed to put the body on a statutory footing. Armitt, former chairman of both the OlympicDelivery Authority and Network Rail, drew up the idea for former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls prior to the May election, and was named commissioner on the NIC late last month by chancellor George Osborne.

Armitt鈥檚 report envisaged a particular structure, in which the NIC would draw up plans based on an assessment of needs over 30 years, which would then be laid before parliament and voted in as law. The NIC would then play an ongoing role scrutinising the government鈥檚 implementation plans, and reporting on progress delivering it. This week Armitt said: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 not quite so clear is how it will interact with government. They鈥檝e got to decide what鈥檚 going to be in the bill that lays out the statutory obligations of the commission, and the government, and its relation to the commission.

鈥淭hat whole structure, how that is tackled, has not been decided yet. Whether it鈥檚 that model [laid out by Armitt], or a less prescriptive model that鈥檚 perhaps less clunky, is still to be determined.鈥�

Armitt鈥檚 comments may raise fears in some quarters that the NIC won鈥檛 have powers to force the government鈥檚 hand on infrastructure investment.

Armitt said: 鈥淚 expect in the bill the government will have to some degree to accept and respond and take heed of the commission鈥檚 findings.鈥�

Armitt added that he expects the NIC to make recommendations on how projects will be funded and delivered, as well as simply what infrastructure is required. This has the potential to lead to conflict with government policy, with Armitt a supporter of a greater public sector role in nuclear new build, for example. Armitt said: 鈥淭he key thing is we strike an appropriate balance between the different views of society and the industry. We鈥檙e not there to dream up fanciful notions of schemes that can never be afforded.鈥�

Armitt鈥檚 comments came as the government announced it was further shaking up the way it managed major infrastructure projects, with its existing infrastructure unit, Infrastructure UK, to be merged with the government body charged with overseeing major capital spending programmes, to form the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.