New government infrastructure and projects body

Merging of Infrastructure UK and the Major Projects Authority to create Infrastructure and Projects Authority

THE Government this week announced that Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the Major Projects Authority (MPA) are to merge, bringing the Government’s expertise, knowledge and skills at managing and delivering major economic projects under one roof for the first time.

The new organization, which will be called the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), will bring together government expertise in the financing, delivery and assurance of these projects, which range from large-scale infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Tunnel to major transformation programmes such as Universal Credit.

The IPA will come into formal existence on 1 January 2016, reporting jointly to the Chancellor and Minister for the Cabinet Office, and its chief executive will be current MPA chief executive Tony Meggs (pictured). Geoffrey Spence, the current chief executive of IUK, is leaving to pursue a new challenge in the private sector.

Chancellor George Osborne said: By bringing together Infrastructure UK with the Major Projects Authority, and creating the new National Infrastructure Commission, we are moving to the next stage in our plan to ensure Britain’s economy gets the transformational projects it needs.

Matt Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said: ‘The new Infrastructure and Projects Authority is a further step forward in delivering what Britain needs to prosper in the 21st century. By combining projects expertise with funding authority we will improve the Government’s ability to deliver, and the economic security that comes with it.

‘Tony Meggs has been a hugely respected chief executive of the MPA and has the leadership and capability to make the new organization a great success.’

IUK was established in 2010 to support major infrastructure projects involving public sector capital, such as Crossrail. It also leads on PFI policy across government, and negotiates infrastructure guarantees, under which up to £40 billion is available to support investment in UK infrastructure projects. IUK currently sits within HM Treasury and is staffed by around 70 civil servants and private sector commercial experts.

The MPA was established in 2011 with a mandate to oversee and assure the largest government projects. It provides assurance of and support to those projects comprising the Government Major Projects Portfolio (around 200 projects totalling nearly £500 billion in public spending). The MPA is housed in Cabinet Office and has a permanent staff of approximately 80 civil servants, supported by a number of assessors who are brought in to assure individual projects.