Ministers told to refine NIP

The next National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) needs to provide a much more concise list of priority projects to be delivered, the Institution of Civil Engineers has claimed.

In its submission to Treasury unit Infrastructure UK, the industry body has said that the existing ‘top 40’ projects in the NIP actually contains “over 500 individual projects due to the inclusion of programmes of work”.

The institution has made its submission ahead of the next publication of the NIP, which is due alongside the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

“The first two editions [of the NIP] set out a much needed and welcome vision for UK infrastructure,” said director-general Nick Baveystock. “But the need for it to evolve into a robust and focussed delivery plan is growing.”

Earlier this week, Chancellor George Osborne told his Party conference in Manchester that a Conservative government after the next election would “commit…to grow our capital spending at least in line with our national income”.