Policy paper

Government response to the National Infrastructure Commission’s report on Delivering net zero, climate resilience and growth: improving nationally significant infrastructure planning

Published 22 November 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Applies to England

The government welcomes the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) report: Delivering net zero, climate resilience and growth: improving nationally significant infrastructure planning. 

Introduction

In February 2023, the government asked the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) to undertake a study on the infrastructure planning system and the role of National Policy Statements (NPSs) in particular. 

NPSs are the cornerstone of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting regime under the Planning Act 2008 and are key to ensuring that government policy is implemented effectively through the planning system. Hence, clear and up to date NPSs are crucial for supporting timely decisions on individual development consent order applications.

Given the prominence of NPSs in the effective operation of the NSIP consenting process, the government was keen to explore with the Commission and ask for its recommendations on

• actions the government could take to ensure NPSs are reviewed more regularly and how the process could be improved, including drawing on the experience of those departments currently carrying out NPS reviews
• whether the current format of the NPS framework remains suitable and effective in providing the necessary planning policy framework for making timely decisions on applications for Development Consent
• any additional recommendations the NIC considers would help strengthen and improve the policy framework for NSIPs

The NIC’s final report, which put forward 6 recommendations to help improve the framework both for NPSs and for NSIPs more generally, was published on 18 April 2023. The government is very grateful to the NIC for this report, which makes a valuable contribution to the programme of reforms to the NSIP regime that are already being brought forward under February 2023‘s cross government NSIP Reform Action Plan and appreciates the thoroughness in which it has been produced at pace. The government fully endorses the NICs 4 tests – faster, more flexible, increased certainty and better quality – that the NSIP regime should meet to be the most effective, and we fully agree with the ambition in all 6 of the recommendations. We have already made progress delivering the wide-ranging reforms set out in the NSIP Reform Action Plan, including new primary legislative powers to set shorter timescales for some projects now in place, reviews of key NPSs (accounting for around 80% of the NSIP pipeline of projects) on track for completion by March 2024, and improvements to services at the Planning Inspectorate and statutory agencies underway’. This will provide us with the strong system-wide foundation from which acceleration of infrastructure delivery will follow.

Beyond this, we are progressing work in all these areas raised by the NIC, and in some cases seek to go further. The NIC has set out ambitious timelines for its recommendations and we are supportive of maintaining momentum and ensuring benefits can be realised as soon as possible. 

This document sets out detailed responses to each of the 6 recommendations in turn, setting out how we intend to take these forward.

Government response to the recommendations  

Recommendation 1

By 2025, government should introduce legislation to make at least 5-yearly reviews of the National Policy Statements for Energy, Water Resources and National Networks a legal requirement. These statements should include clear tests, refer to spatial plans and set out clear timelines and standards for consultation during pre-application. Reviews should consider the appropriateness of existing and future technologies and thresholds. Government should amend legislation to bring onshore wind into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project system as soon as possible. By 2025, government should also set out the criteria for triggering reviews of other National Policy Statements.

By 2025, government should introduce legislation to make at least 5-yearly reviews of the National Policy Statements for Energy, Water Resources and National Networks a legal requirement.

The government recognises the important role that NPSs play in the NSIP consenting process and this was set out in the NSIP Reform Action Plan (February 2023). We also recognise the importance of keeping NPSs up to date through regular reviews, something which is now underway, with a new Water Resources NPS having recently been designated in September, and designation of the National Networks NPS and the Energy NPSs ENs 1-5 due to follow in coming months. We agree with the recommendation that there should be at least 5yearly reviews of NPSs to consider whether amendments to that NPS are necessary at that point in time. This expectation was one of the main features behind the planning guidance on NPS reviews that we published in 2021. As this renewed focus is now starting to take effect, rather than formal legislation at this stage we re-commit to reviews within that 5-year timeline.

To support the undertaking of more frequent reviews as required, we agree that there may be scope to expand upon the criteria for reviews set out in section 6(3) of the Planning Act 2008, and intend to initiate an external review of the NPS review and designation process to consider this matter further (more information is provided under recommendation 2).Further to this, the government agrees that ensuring the review process itself is made more flexible and streamlined is a priority and further consideration of this is set out in the government response to recommendation 2. 

These statements should include clear tests, refer to spatial plans and set out clear timelines and standards for consultation during pre-application. Reviews should consider the appropriateness of existing and future technologies and thresholds.

Clear policy and guidance reduces the scope for delay at an individual project level across the NSIP system. Government has recently designated the Water Resources NPS and is on track to designate NPSs in the fields of energy and transport by the end of March 2024. 

As set out in the NSIP Reform Action Plan (February 2023), work is now being taken forward to review existing national planning guidance to support the implementation of NSIP reforms. Further details on government proposals were set out in the consultation on operational reforms to the NSIP process which closed on 19 September, and government will set out how these reforms will be taken forward in the government response. Government intends to improve the pre-application process by: 

• revising the pre-application service offering of the Planning Inspectorate, including the introduction of a new enhanced pre-application service
• enabling the Planning Inspectorate to provide merits and procedural section 51 advice whilst maintaining impartiality
• providing greater clarity for applicants on who to consult and when
• ensuring more effective and proportionate consultation through an early ‘adequacy of consultation’ milestone
• revising and updating pre-application guidance concerning certain consultation requirements and providing greater clarity about what is required for an application to be accepted

Government will respond to the consultation in early 2024, with the intention that key regulations and guidance will be revised and in place from April 2024.

Where appropriate government will link NPSs to spatial plans. Infrastructure delivery should be informed by spatial considerations, and there is important work underway to explore ways to further this approach, including through the work of the Geospatial Commission, and cross-government work through the Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme and the Land Use Framework. The updated Energy NPSs, when designated, will reflect the Prime Minister’s announcement of a new strategic geospatial approach to energy infrastructure planning, as follows “The government has committed to producing a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), to bridge the gap between government policy and infrastructure development plans. This will be a high-level plan which will inform, and be informed by, more detailed individual plans (for example, the Centralised Strategic Network Plan for electricity networks). A more strategic approach to spatial planning is intended to make clearer the overall geographic requirements for the energy system and increase efficiency in the system, resulting in cheaper transmission costs for generators and consumers of electricity.” We will create a taskforce, led across government by the Chief Planner, to draw conclusions by summer 2024, about the merits of adopting a more spatial planning approach in transport, water, waste and wastewater sectors, building on the approach in energy, and to set out next steps.^{[footnote 1]}

It is essential that government continues to consider the appropriateness of current thresholds. In Network North: transforming British transport, published by the Department of Transport on 4 October 2023, government announced its intention to review the road and rail thresholds in the Planning Act 2008 Act, as well as considering whether the Highways Act 1980 and Transport and Works 1992 regimes remain fit for purpose. We have already begun stakeholder engagement to inform the best way forward for delivering the announced reviews. We will soon be publicly seeking views on the definitions in the Planning Act 2008 for highway and railway projects that require development consent.

Government should amend legislation to bring onshore wind into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project system as soon as possible.

The government has recently updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to help make it easier and quicker for local councils to take forward onshore wind projects where there is local support. Given the recent changes to the NPPF, we do not propose to bring onshore wind into the NSIP regime at this current time.

By 2025, government should also set out the criteria for triggering reviews of other National Policy Statements.

The criteria for triggering whether or when to review NPSs is set out under the Planning Act 2008 and applies to all fields of infrastructure where an NPS is designated equally. 

Government Departments will regularly monitor significant changes in any circumstances to inform whether the relevant NPS needs to be reviewed.

We intend to update key national infrastructure planning guidance by Spring 2024. As part of guidance reviews, we will consider whether NPS review guidance could be updated to set out the changes which could potentially trigger whether a review of an NPS is needed.

Recommendation 2

By July 2024, government should introduce a system of modular updates to National Policy Statements linked to primary or secondary legislation to ensure clarity on how future legislative change relates to National Policy Statements.

The government agrees that a more effective process for updates would be helpful and welcomes the report’s suggestion regarding modularity. Government is committed to improving the process for updating National Policy Statements, building upon the NIC recommendation, with a particular focus on standardising the process for future updates.

While our immediate focus remains on completing to designation the current NPS reviews already underway, the government agrees that further work relating to the review and designation process should be a priority and will maintain momentum on this.

To that end, we will shortly commission an external review of the current NPS review and designation process, to explore options for reconfiguring the NPS framework. Our priority will be to ensure that the review process is made more flexible (so that it can be updated more easily) and streamlined to provide clarity for infrastructure developers. A modular approach is likely to form part of the solution, but given the importance of NPSs in decision-making, further work is required before government commits to a new approach. This review will be commissioned in early 2024, to deliver recommendations to government by the end of 2024.    

Recommendation 3

By the end of 2024 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should introduce a data sharing platform for environmental data with clear data standards, sharing relevant developer and local nature recovery strategy data. By the end of 2025 statutory consultees should develop a library of historic and natural environmental mitigations for different kinds of infrastructure. Statutory consultees should also receive and use new resource to gather baseline data and agree strategic mitigations for urgent infrastructure, firstly for wind generation and electricity transmission, and then water resources, by the end of 2025.

By the end of 2024 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should introduce a data sharing platform for environmental data with clear data standards, sharing relevant developer and local nature recovery strategy data.

Good environmental data is important in supporting development to efficiently navigate the planning system and its various assessment requirements. We are aware that there is already a complex mosaic of data platforms and policies that are relevant to the development sector, and we recognise the desire to bring this data together via a single portal.

Government’s priority for environmental data is to ensure that relevant information is available and accessible in line with the ambitions set out in the UK’s Digital Strategy. A central part of this is our “Open by Default” policy and our commitment to open data standards. This approach will ensure that relevant environmental data is properly maintained and made available to support not only the delivery of infrastructure, but also the creation of new platforms and software driven by this data.

Data gathered through the planning process, and through current and upcoming monitoring requirements will also deepen our understanding of the accuracy of assessments; whether the mitigation measures proposed are effective; and the state of our environment overall.

Across departments, there are several data-related projects that will combine to provide a more comprehensive view of the state of nature, and therefore support future development:

• The Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme, collecting data to provide an environmental baseline, is underway.
• The Local Nature Recovery Strategy data viewer, signposting responsible authorities to data needed to deliver their strategy, is now live.
• The planning data platform, drawing on Defra’s Data Services Platform - an open-service platform hosting most Defra-owned data.
• The Planning Data Standards, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) which will ensure better data sharing in planning cases.
• Environmental Outcomes Reports (EORs), also introduced through the LURA, will allow the government to use the data standards (set out above) for information provided as part of the environmental assessment. Along with a renewed emphasis on collecting data through post-consent monitoring, this will ensure better data is available to support future development activity.

Ensuring that these reforms and platforms are aligned will be essential to ensuring that environmental data supports and guides developers through the planning system, securing best outcomes for both development and the environment.

The measures above will have an early impact, giving developers easier access to better data, allowing them to make informed choices and to reduce the impact of development on the environment, saving time and money.

By the end of 2025 statutory consultees should develop a library of historic and natural environmental mitigations for different kinds of infrastructure. Statutory consultees should also receive and use new resource to gather baseline data and agree strategic mitigations for urgent infrastructure, firstly for wind generation and electricity transmission, and then water resources, by the end of 2025.

Through our reforms, we are working to improve ‘tiering’ between the 2 levels of environmental assessment (strategic and project levels) and strengthen the processes which underpin strategic approaches to mitigations. We can learn lessons from existing programmes such as District Level Licencing, applying the principles within the broader development setting.

Government supports the principles that a library of mitigations could simplify and streamline the planning process. However, mitigations will have to be adapted on a site-by-site basis to achieve optimal mitigation outcomes.

As part of the Offshore Wind Enabling Actions Programme (OWEAP), government has committed to developing a strategic approach to environmental monitoring for offshore wind to better understand their impact on the marine environment. Improved data will translate into improved consenting by enabling a more granular understanding of the likely impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment, and therefore more targeted mitigation and compensation measures. We will work with statutory nature conservation bodies and industry to develop a strategic monitoring programme and its outputs could support the development of mitigation and compensatory measures. We will draw on the experience of delivering these workstreams within the OWEAP to consider how they might be applied to other infrastructure and development types in future.

Taking on board the processes that the OWEAP is undertaking, our intention is to apply mitigation libraries within EORs when they come into effect.

Recommendation 4

By the end of 2023 government should develop a framework of direct benefits for local communities and individuals where they are hosting types of nationally significant infrastructure which deliver few local benefits.

The government recognises that there is a longstanding principle of enabling community benefits for local communities in relation to significant infrastructure projects. Such benefits are an important way to ensure communities that host projects of national importance also see the benefits locally. These types of community benefits are delivered outside the planning system and are not considered when determining planning applications. 

We agree that a more strategic approach to community benefits would be valuable, recognising however that an approach that works for one form of infrastructure may not work for another. Government is already exploring and progressing work on a sector-by-sector basis. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) launched its ‘Community Benefits for Electricity Transmission Network Infrastructure’ consultation in March this year proposing to create voluntary guidance for industry and communities when developing individual community benefit packages. The consultation proposed to introduce voluntary guidance on the appropriate levels and forms of benefits to give communities the knowledge, power and flexibility to decide what benefits they want in consultation with the project developer. We proposed to introduce a recommended level of funding for community benefits, which we believe will increase the level of funding from that seen in existing examples of community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure. The consultation closed on 15 June 2023, and the government has published its response last week, as part of the Transmission Acceleration Action Plan.

Government is committed to securing community benefits in other sectors and will take a strategic approach by identifying key sectors where community benefits can support delivery of infrastructure. We will set out our plans in due course, as part of future funding and investment decisions. 

Recommendation 5

By the end of 2023 a central coordination and oversight mechanism should be developed, reporting to the Prime Minister or the Chancellor, with measurable targets for reducing consenting times for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

The government recognises the importance of maintaining strategic oversight of the consenting and delivery of NSIPs, which represent up to £30 billion of investment in the UK every year.

We will therefore put in place a ministerially led forum at the centre of government that will have strategic oversight of major infrastructure projects, including those captured by the NSIP regime (such as electricity generation projects over 50MW in England), end-to-end and beyond to implementation, unblock strategic sector-wide issues, act as a horizon scanner for future challenges, and manage cross cutting issues. With the biggest infrastructure portfolio in decades, government needs to be at the forefront of driving delivery in a consistent and structured manner, with oversight of our national infrastructure ambitions.  

This forum will report to the Prime Minister or Chancellor of the Exchequer and build on existing structures in place to strengthen cross-government co-ordination of infrastructure delivery. Through the NSIP Ministerial Steering Group, which has met since spring 2023 and includes Ministers from DLUHC, DfT, DESNZ, Defra, Department for Business and Trade (DBT), HMT and Cabinet Office, we have already improved the cross-government coordination of work supporting NSIP planning reform through the NSIP Reform Action Plan.  And whilst significant reporting is already in place across government (within Departments, to the Treasury and to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), government agrees that there is a need for a better centralised forum to oversee delivery of large transport, water, waste, and energy projects. This will enable government to take strategic planning and execution decisions about infrastructure delivery in the round.

Recommendation 6

By May 2024 performance indicators for statutory consultees operating under a cost recovery model should form part of compulsory service level agreements with developers, with budget implications for failure to meet agreed service levels. Developers’ applications should only be accepted for examination once a service level agreement is in place.

The government is working closely with its arms’ length bodies to improve the planning services they offer in relation to NSIPs, and we agree that clear performance indicators for statutory consultees should be an important driver of efficient and timely advisory work.  

Further detail on the government’s proposals to move towards full cost recovery in the NSIP system were set out in DLUHC’s consultation on operational reforms (July 2023). The government is considering the responses to this consultation and will respond by Spring 2024. Primary legislation enabling cost recovery across the system is now in place through the LURA, and we are progressing changes to regulations and guidance to implement this and support delivery of Key Performance Indicators from April 2024, as set out in the NSIP Reform Action Plan (February 2023).   

It is important that we improve the performance of statutory consultees whilst avoiding counterintuitive budget implications which could potentially lead to a vicious cycle of underfunding and poor performance.

Developers’ applications should only be accepted for examination once a service level agreement is in place.

Through ongoing stakeholder engagement on NSIP reform, feedback to government has indicated that service level agreements (SLAs), whilst useful for many of the larger NSIP projects, can be costly and time consuming to agree for smaller projects. The government is therefore taking a broader approach, developing Key Performance Indictors (KPIs) for NSIP cases to support the introduction of cost-recovery, and to monitor performance in cases where the financial and legal costs of developing SLAs is not justified. 

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