1 April 2025, 15:21 | Updated: 2 April 2025, 15:09

By Sam Gould

The government has created a new body, the National Infrastructure Service and Transformation Authority (NISTA) with end-to-end responsibility for its infrastructure plans.

NISTA combines and enhances the work of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).

It also brings together responsibility for ALL the UK’s infrastructure needs under one roof – schools, hospitals, defence, public transport, water, electricity, even big digital transformation projects.

In June, the government will also publish a new 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy (10YIS) and announce the outcome of its multi-year spending review.

All this is happening against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

We can’t plan for or anticipate everything, and the impact of tariffs, war, and pandemics can have big ripple effects. We’ve seen this time and again.

In this potentially volatile context, getting the basics of infrastructure planning and delivery right is essential.

NISTA needs to hit the ground running, and the 10YIS must set a clear direction of travel for investors and the supply chain.

It needs to do more than just combine the functions of the NIC and IPA – it needs to fundamentally change the UK’s approach to planning and delivering infrastructure.

Here are........

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