Armitt Review puts waste as key long term infrastructure sector

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An independent review of long term infrastructure planning has proposed that a National Infrastructure Commission should be set up that would be required to ensure its recommendations were consistent with UK climate change targets.

The Armitt Review was commissioned by the Labour Party, and chaired by Sir John Armitt who was chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

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In the review’s recommendations, it has been proposed that the National Infrastructure Commission should be created.

This body would be statutory independent and each decade would undertake an evidence-based assessment of the UK’s infrastructure needs over a 25-30 year horizon.

Its assessment would be passed to Government, and once approved by Parliament, each Government department would be responsible to produce plans for each infrastructure sector including details of specific projects and the funding and delivery arrangements for these schemes.

The Commission would then monitor progress and report on how effectively sector plans were being implemented.

Sector plans would be required for the key economic infrastructure sectors of energy, transport, water, waste and telecommunications and these would work in parallel rather than looking at each in isolation.

Each sector plan would work together to set out an overarching vision for the strategic development of our national infrastructure taking account of the main interdependencies between the sectors.

In developing its conclusions, the Commission would consider a wide range of projections including economic growth forecasts, population trends, technological changes and environmental issues and obligations including meeting UK climate change targets.

Sir John Armitt said: “Over the last 40 years UK infrastructure has fallen behind the rest of the world and it 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.”