Submission by the Civil
Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Wales to the National
Assembly’s Economy, Infrastructure and Skills
Committee
Thursday
17
November
09:30 until 10.30
To discuss the Welsh
Government’s plans to establish a National Infrastructure
Commission for Wales.
CECA Wales responses to the following
issues:
1.
What the role, remit and objectives of the Commission should
be:
- The role of the Commission should, initially,
be to provide independent and evidence based recommendations on
infrastructure and related matters to meet the economic, social and
environmental ambitions of Wales and the Welsh Government within
the context of UK, European and global economic conditions.
However, consideration should be given to the Commission developing
delivery and investment functions as is the case in other
nations.
- Whilst the Commission could initially be
established as a non-statutory body (to enable its rapid
establishment) it should move quickly to a statutory footing to
ensure that its recommendations carry sufficient weight and
credibility.
- Strategically its remit should encompass all
forms of new infrastructure including social infrastructure such as
housing, schools and hospitals. The integration of social
infrastructure with transport, for instance, is absolutely
essential given the obvious inter-dependencies and the need for
connectivity between places of working and living. Operationally
consideration should be given to extending its remit to delivery
and investment functions either directly, on a commissioning basis
or through formal partnerships with others e.g. Welsh Development
Bank.
- The objectives of the Commission should be to
:
-
- Provide independent advice, guidance and
recommendations to the Welsh Government on all matters relating to
infrastructure including how best to finance and deliver
infrastructure programmes;
- Develop a long-term programme (15-20 years)
of prioritised infrastructure projects aligned to the economic
ambitions of the nation;
- Develop an investment strategy to support
delivery of the programme;
- Develop a skills strategy to support delivery
of the programme.
2.
How the Commission should operate, and what methodologies it
should adopt for conducting its work:
- The Commission should operate via a Board of
Directors and a small Executive team;
- The strategic direction and governance of the
Commission should be provided by the Board of Directors;
- Operational delivery should be managed by a
small Executive team of experts commissioning specific pieces of
work via appropriate suppliers – although this could increase
as the remit of the Commission changes;
- Its initial focus should be on understanding
the economic ambitions of the Welsh Government within the context
of UK, European and global economic environments and setting out,
in broad terms, the infrastructure needed to deliver these
ambitions;
- The Commission needs to develop a strong
evidence base to inform its decisions;
- It should liaise closely with a wide range of
stakeholders across Wales and ensure alignment with other UK
infrastructure proposals.
3.
How the Commission should be governed and funded to ensure its
independence from the Welsh Government:
- The Commission should operate as an
“arms-length” body, independent of the Welsh
Government, with a Board of Directors, selected via public
appointment, with specific areas of expertise;
- It should not be administered by Welsh
Government officers but, rather, by a small team of experienced
staff to deliver/commission specific pieces of work in support of
its objectives;
- It should be funded by the Welsh Government
and have a budget which will allow it to commission specific areas
of work;
- It should reflect Wales’ diverse
communities and should operate/meet across the whole of Wales.
4.
Examples of UK and international best practice that the
Commission could learn from:
- UK Government National Infrastructure
Commission;
- Scottish Futures;
- National Development Agency Ireland;
- Infrastructure Australia.
5.
How the work of the Commission should incorporate the principles
of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015:
- The process of embedding the principles of
the WFG Act 2015 in Welsh life is at a very early stage;
- The Commission should ensure that all of its
outputs consider and report issues against each of the principles
so that any justification can be formally considered by
stakeholders and other interested parties;
- The Future Generations Commissioner should be
a formal consultee to the Commission.
6.
How and to what extent the work of the Commission should
influence Welsh Government decision making and prioritisation of
infrastructure projects:
- If the Commission is to have any value and
credibility the outputs of its work (eg recommendations) should be
implemented in all cases unless specific consideration is given by
Welsh Government Ministers to disregard or amend the proposals. In
any instance where the work of the Commission is not implemented a
formal report should be presented outlining the reasons why
proposals are not progressed;
- Responsibility for the development of an
investment strategy to support any proposals is essential if the
Commission is to have any credibility and accountability. This
should not be limited by a prescribed envelope of funding set by
the Welsh Government – particularly as the Commission should
also be considering the impacts and benefits of non-devolved and
private sector infrastructure projects;
- Recommendations made by the Commission on
infrastructure related issues such as future workforce skills
should be considered by the appropriate Minister and treated as for
direct infrastructure issues.
7.
How the work of the Commission should interact with regional
infrastructure priorities and City/Growth Deals:
- Given the obvious economic interdependencies
and infrastructure connections within the different regions of
Wales there needs to be a continuous dialogue between the
Commission and the various regional/city bodies to ensure alignment
of objectives and priorities and investment;
- NICW should be able to examine regional
infrastructure proposals from a broader Welsh perspective to
confirm alignment and to identify potential opportunities, impacts
and risks for the Welsh economy (similar to Infrastructure
Australia).
8.
What relationship the Commission should have with the UK
Government’s Commission on cross-border issues and
infrastructure in areas that are partially devolved:
- Given the obvious economic interdependencies
and infrastructure connections between Wales and the remainder of
the UK there needs to be a continuous dialogue between both
Commissions;
- NICW should be able to examine UK
infrastructure proposals from a Welsh perspective to identify
opportunities, impacts and risks for the Welsh economy;
- Similarly, there should be opportunities for
the UK NIC to scrutinise and challenge any proposals put forward by
NICW to ensure that all proposals are fully debated and to ensure
alignment.
Submission by :
Ed Evans, Director,
Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Wales
3rd
November 2016