Wales to get its own National Infrastructure Commission by summer 2018

Welsh Assembly cabinet secretary for economy and transport, Ken Skates, has confirmed that following public consultation and scrutiny by the Assembly, a new National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICfW) is to be established and that a chair and commissioners are currently being sought. 

The commission will initially be constituted as an independent, non-statutory, advisory body to Welsh ministers, with the key purpose of analysing, advising and making recommendations on Wales’ longer term strategic economic and environment infrastructure needs over a five to 30-year period.

Making the announcement, Skates said: “The commission will comprise of 10-12 commissioners, including the chair; all of whom will be publicly appointed following the public appointment principles on the basis of their experience and expertise. The public appointments exercise for chair and members of the commission will start early in the New Year.

Skates said that for commission members the assembly was looking for individuals “with experience of strategic leadership at senior levels of government, academia or business in one or more sectors of economic and/or environment infrastructure (such as energy, transport, waste, flood, digital communications) or a related field (such as economics, planning, project/infrastructure finance, design, engineering, technology and innovation)”.

The time commitment for commissioners is expected to be two days per month and remuneration will be £300 a day. Details of how to apply to become a commissioner can be found on the Welsh Assembly website here. The closing date for receipt of applications for commissioners is 4 March 2018.

The chair of the NICfW will be a leading thinker and an independent voice on infrastructure, working with a diverse group of commissioners. The chair will have a prominent public profile, presenting NICfW’s recommendations in public and to the National Assembly for Wales, and testing the delivery of NICfW recommendations which are accepted by the Welsh Government. 

The time commitment for the chair is five days per month and remuneration will be £400 a day. Details of how to apply to become the chair of the NICfW can be found on the Welsh Assembly website here. The closing date for receipt of applications for the role of chair is 25 February 2018.

ACE Cymru Wales welcomed the news. Neil Sadler, consultant at Cass Hayward LLP Consulting Engineers and chair of ACE Cymru Wales, said: "We are delighted to see the progress being made on this issue, especially as ACE Cymru Wales actively encouraged the formation of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales through the public consultation process.

"We welcome these latest developments and hope that representatives of the consultancy and engineering industry will put themselves forward as commissioners for the NICfW to ensure that the sector is represented on this important body for the future of Wales’ infrastructure in its vital role in the Prosperity for All strategy.”

Advice provided by the new NICfW will be strategic and forward looking in nature. Advice on existing or upcoming infrastructure schemes will not be part of the commission’s remit. It is expected that the commission will be fully established by summer 2018.