Recommendation 8

HM Government Acknowledged

2. PAC conclusion: The Treasury and the Bank have not yet put in place the conditions necessary for the Bank to be a successful and long-lasting institution. 2. PAC recommendation: • The Treasury and the Bank should report to Parliament six-monthly on the roll- out of the Bank, including updates on recruitment, deals made and progress towards the operation of their own internal systems (e.g., IT systems). This should include timescales for future milestones. • The Treasury needs to be much clearer in its reporting of its expectations of the Bank, including its financing support, its plans for taking dividends, and the long-term ownership plans by defining more clearly what it means by the phrase ‘long-lasting institution’. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: March 2024 2.2 The final phase of the Bank’s roll-out will take place during 2023-24 – following the anticipated date of Royal Assent for the UKIB Bill and while the Bank completes its recruitment of its permanent workforce. The Bank will therefore provide the requested 16 information to Parliament by the end of September 2023 and in March 2024 in addition to the information on the Bank’s operations which is already provided to Parliament through the Annual Reports and Accounts (ARA) process. After March 2024, the Bank will provide this information through the ARA process only. 2.3 The Treasury has set out its expectations of the Bank through the Framework Document and the Strategic Steer which cover the principles underpinning the relationship between the two institutions, and sets out clearly the government’s expectations around the Bank’s priorities. These documents are publicly available to ensure transparency. Following the passage of the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill through Parliament, the Treasury will update the Framework Document and Strategic Steer to ensure that they reflect the new statutory footing for the Bank. 2.4 The Treasury and the Bank will continue to work closely together over the coming years to ensure that as the Bank becomes more established, the targets and objectives of the Bank reflect its operations and capacity. To aid with this, as set out in the policy design document, the government intends to carry out a Strategic Review of the Bank “in which the Bank’s progress and financial performance will be reviewed by government, including considering market demand and pipeline, with a view to ensuring it has sufficient resource”. This is in addition to an independent review of UKIB’s effectiveness and impact which is included within the UKIB Bill.