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Former minister leads call for a Department for Infrastructure

Stephen Hammond MP

England needs a single department to decide on infrastructure priorities, says Stephen Hammond MP.

Politicians talking about institutions and the need for change are invariably a public turnoff. In some cases, however, institutional reform could drive a step change, either in policy or delivery.

"Now is the time for radical change. A unified Department for Infrastructure could overcome past policy failures and bring coherence and skill to project implementation and management. This Department would assume the responsibilities of all other Whitehall departments with respect to infrastructure, namely DfT, DECC, DEFRA, HMT, DCLG, and BIS."

In the UK, the extent of government involvement in infrastructure varies significantly, depending upon whether it is power, transport, housing, or broadband. In some sectors, the government’s role is limited to policy and regulatory framework design and implementation, while in others it is to direct financial investment and project manage.

Whatever the level of involvement, however, there remains a concern that strategic infrastructure decision-making is too often shortsighted, uncoordinated and lacking expertise. The same concerns remain throughout the process, as policy moves into the project delivery phase and future regulatory oversight is needed.

This Government has taken two positive steps, namely developing a National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) which sets out an infrastructure pipeline, and setting up Infrastructure UK, a unit within Treasury that provides advice on the UK’s long term infrastructure needs. There is still, however, little concentration of expertise; departmental divisions still exist; and innovative financing solutions have not been developed. Moreover, there is the inevitable impression that Treasury has a final veto in any case.

Now is the time for radical change. A unified Department for Infrastructure could overcome past policy failures and bring coherence and skill to project implementation and management. This Department would assume the responsibilities of all other Whitehall departments with respect to infrastructure, namely DfT, DECC, DEFRA, HMT, DCLG, and BIS.

Therefore the new department would not be established for administrative convenience but would ensure coherence and excellence in a key government objective.

To those who might say the last thing Whitehall needs is more government departments, I say “hear hear”. I also say there are, of course, two obvious solutions. Firstly, as the devolved nations get more powers there will be no need for separate departments for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and a single Ministry for the Devolved Nations could be instituted.

Additionally, much of the work done by DECC, DEFRA, and DCLG could be combined into a reconstituted Department for Environment with a revised brief.

A Department for Infrastructure would become responsible for any further NIPs and the advantages of this are numerous. For instance, the interlinking nature of transport, housing, power, and broadband could be taken into greater account when making decisions. The faster roll-out of faster internet connections, for instance, might alter priorities in regards to the siting of housing development and new transport services.

A new department would determine the key sectors and allow for greater project prioritisation, overcoming real concerns about whether just having 40 or 50 key projects is the right approach. It would quickly become a centre for expertise and skills, improving both as well as the quality of decision-making in policy development and project selection.

There would also be a substantial cost saving through eliminating duplicate roles and reducing the need for space within central government. There might even be limited revenue-raising opportunities through the selling off of surplus buildings.

The idea of a combined Department for Infrastructure is one that, in my opinion, must be discussed, and the political parties should consider making a firm manifesto commitment to look at establishing it.

Stephen Hammond is a member of the ACE advisory board. You can read more from him on the idea for an Infrastructure Department in the January edition of Infrastructure Intelligence magazine, out this week.

Coming soon:

ACE is working with Stephen Hammond MP on a paper outlining how a Department for Infrastructure would work, expected to be launched on 26 February. For information please contact ACE policy manager Peter Campbell at pcampbell@acenet.co.uk.