Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“In June 2021, HM Treasury launched the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) with the aim of encouraging private finance alongside public investment to achieve two strategic objectives: helping to tackle climate change and supporting regional and local economic growth. UKIB is a publicly owned company with the Treasury as sole shareholder. The Treasury has provided for the Bank to invest up to £22 billion of public money over its first five years, through a combination of equity, loans and guarantees to support infrastructure projects. It has asked the Bank to prioritise five sectors: clean energy, transport, digital, water and waste. The Committee will question executives at the UK Investment Bank and senior officials at the Treasury. If you have evidence on the creation of the UKIB and whether it is structured and supported to achieve its goals , please submit here by Tuesday 25 October at 18:00.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
Government created the UK Infrastructure Bank (the Bank) to help deliver on its aspirations to support the UK’s net zero commitments and level-up the regions. The Bank is approaching 18 months into its life and is still in its early stages of development; so far it has deployed £1 billion of its £22 billion capital to 10 deals and its advisory function to local authorities is being piloted. However, it is behind plan in its recruitment, with only 16 permanent staff in post against a target of 320; and it does not yet have powers to lend directly to local authorities. The Bank expects to reach ‘steady state’ in Autumn 2023.
Given its limitations, it was sensible for the Bank to adopt a cautious approach to early deals. But the Treasury does not seem to have a reporting approach which allows Parliament early sight of any significant emerging problems. The Bank faces trade-offs in many areas, for example in taking on investment risk to open new markets, while protecting the taxpayer; and deciding which local authorities to prioritise. The Bank does not yet have a clear strategic approach to managing these trade-offs; nor a clear explanation of what it is doing, that the market is not (‘additionality’). It is essential that the Bank develops strong performance measurement and evaluation of its important objectives to ensure it is adding value in its work and remains accountable to Parliament.
The Treasury set up the Bank quickly and, in rushing, Treasury chose not to follow its own business case best practice and normal government guidance for the establishment of an arm’s length independent body. Gaps in the Bank’s initial governance arrangements meant it was non-compliant with the UK Corporate Governance code for its initial year of operation, and the Bank had to lean heavily on Treasury’s processes and controls.
The Bank is still closely linked to the Treasury, which could limit its operational independence. But we acknowledge that it was set up very quickly on the insistence of Ministers. Time will tell whether moving at this speed has proved beneficial to the long-term stability and functioning of the Bank, as well as whether it was the best way for taxpayer’s money to be used to achieve its stated aims.
What the government said
The government responded on 12 April 2023. The deadline was 25 March 2023.
The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six conclusions and sets target implementation dates between March 2023 and March 2024.
- On long-term plans and governance, HM Treasury "will write to the Committee setting out the requested details by the end of April 2023".
- On reporting, the Bank "will therefore provide the requested information to Parliament by the end of September 2023 and in March 2024", after which it will do so through the Annual Reports and Accounts process only.
- The government intends to carry out a Strategic Review of the Bank, in addition to an independent review of its effectiveness and impact included within the UKIB Bill.
- The Bank plans to publish a further update to its Strategic Plan in summer 2023, and expects to publish a document setting out its Impact Framework in the same period.
Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 12 October 2022 to its close on 13 April 2023. The dashed mark is the deadline Parliament records for the government's response.
- Oral evidence 7 Nov 2022
- Report 25 Jan 2023
- Government response 12 Apr 2023
- Correspondence 3 letters
What it recommended 5 recommendations · 18 conclusions
2The Treasury and the Bank have not yet put in place the conditions necessary for...
3We are not convinced the Bank has a strategic view of where it best needs...
4The Bank’s advisory function remains in the early stages of development and uncertainty remains on...
5Maximising the Bank’s impact will depend on close cooperation with government departments, but it has...
6The Bank has not fully set out how it will measure and report its performance,...
1On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
7The Treasury told us it took a “phased approach” to the Bank’s set-up with “checks...
8The Treasury intends the Bank to be a “long-lasting institution” providing financing for infrastructure projects...
9The Treasury provided the Bank with £22 billion in capital to cover the first five...
10The Bank’s capacity to make complex and innovative deals is limited by the lack of...
11The Bank told us that, as a result of having insufficient skills and expertise, it...
12The costs associated with setting-up the Bank as a separate institution, such as procuring new...
13The Bank told us it is currently developing several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure...
14The Bank recognises there could be tensions between its two policy objectives.37 For example, there...
15The Bank has developed arrangements for reporting performance and emerging issues to its shareholder (the...
16The Bank was set up to address market failures and fill gaps in financing for...
17The Bank’s 10 deals to date have mostly been in relatively conventional investments.45 This total...
18The Bank’s 10 deals to date have focused on clean energy (five) and digital (four)...
19The Bank’s functions include providing an expert advisory service to help local authorities and other...
20The Bank told us that in developing the pilots, it wanted to try to understand...
21The Bank has not reached a decision on how it will fund its advisory function.
22The activities and policy objectives of the Bank overlap with departments across government.
23We asked whether the Bank had mechanisms in place to manage pressures from competing government...
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 7 Nov 2022Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank5 witnesses, listed belowparliament.uk ↗
Who gave evidence 5 witnesses
- David LunnDirector, Regulation Directorate, Department of Business and Trade
- James Bowler CBPermanent Secretary, HM Treasury
- John FlintChief Executive, UK Infrastructure Bank
- Philip DuffyChief Executive, Environment Agency
- Tim JarvisDirector General for Markets, Ofgem
Correspondence 3 letters
- 23 Feb 2023Correspondence from Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, HM Treasury, re update on the UK Infrastructure Bank’s (UKIB), dated 2 February 2023
- 22 Nov 2022Correspondence from John Flint, Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Bank, re a profile of the banks interim staff, dated 17 November 2022
- 8 Nov 2022Correspondence from John Flint Chief, Executive Officer, Infrastructure Bank, re update on progress, dated 1 November 2022