Government creates new body to help manage and deliver major projects for UK economy
Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the Major Projects Authority (MPA) will merge, creating the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
The government has today 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 organisation, which will be called the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, 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.
It 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 Tony Meggs, who is the current Chief Executive of the MPA.
It has also been announced today that Geoffrey Spence, the current Chief Executive of IUK, has decided to leave his current role and 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.
I’d like to thank Geoffrey Spence for the brilliant job he has done leading Infrastructure UK since July 2011. Under his leadership, IUK became a more effective organisation, successfully developing and implementing the UK’s National Infrastructure Plan, the UK Guarantee Scheme for infrastructure and a new model for private sector delivery of public service, PF2.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock said:
The new Infrastructure and Projects Authority is a further step forward in delivering what Britain needs to prosper in the twenty-first 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 organisation a great success.
Additional information
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. It 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, some 200 projects totalling nearly £500 billion in public spending. It is housed in Cabinet Office, with a permanent staff of approximately 80 civil servants. They are supported by a number of assessors who are brought in to assure individual projects.
Tony Meggs is a senior executive with significant experience as a business and technical leader in the private sector, including overseeing BP’s technology, projects and engineering functions. He has also led collaborations with several universities, including co-chairing a major study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the future of natural gas. He has been Chief Executive of the MPA on an interim basis since the beginning of the year, and has recently been appointed to the permanent role following an open competition.
Geoffrey Spence has been the Chief Executive of Infrastructure UK since July 2011, and has successfully led the organisation through a critical period, transforming its effectiveness and successfully developing and implementing the UK’s National Infrastructure Plan, the UK Guarantee Scheme for infrastructure and a new model for private sector delivery of public service, PF2. Geoffrey has decided to pursue a new challenge in the private sector and has accepted a new role in the City which he will take up next year.