UK's National Infrastructure Commission begins 'call for evidence' on focus areas

The NIC, chaired by former transport secretary Lord Andrew Adonis, has been set up to take a long-term look at the UK's infrastructure needs and to provide independent advice to ministers and parliament. It has been asked to report to the Treasury on three particular areas ahead of next year's Budget: transport connectivity in the north of England; London transport; and balancing electricity demand and supply.

The commission has asked industry, local and regional government, NGOs and members of the public to provide their "evidence and ideas" on these three topics by 8 January 2016. These submissions will allow it to draw on "a wide evidence base and spectrum of opinions" when producing its initial reports, it said.

Adonis announced the call for evidence on a "fact-finding" trip to the north of England, where he was accompanied by David Brown of Transport for the North (TfN). TfN is currently working on its own plans for better road and rail connections between the cities in the north, which it is due to present to the government by spring 2016.

"To make the north a powerhouse once again we need a new era of infrastructure investment," Adonis said.

"I am delighted that the call for evidence is being launched in the north of England. We have seen great steps forward in the north's infrastructure, including Airport City in Manchester and the new deep water port in Liverpool. This call for evidence will support the commission to make the infrastructure of the north greater still," he said.

Brown said that TfN, which brings together regional transport authorities and local business leasers, would be submitting a "strong case ... for pan-northern, transformational investment in transport infrastructure" as part of the commission's call for evidence.

The NIC will use the call for evidence to determine "likely growth and connectivity requirements" across the north of England, the need for and strategic options for "large-scale transport infrastructure improvements" in London and views on "how changes to existing market frameworks, increased interconnection and new technologies" can better balance electricity supply and demand.

It has published a document which breaks down what it is hoping to establish in each of these priority areas into four or five further questions. Part of this exercise is intended to help it understand the way needs in each of these priority areas are likely to evolve over the next two or three decades.

The commission said that it did not intend to "prioritise" between the three issues it had been asked to consider. Rather, it would simply "make recommendations on next steps in each case", it said.