The chief executive of the Infrastructure & Projects Authority has ruled himself out of running its replacement organisation.
However, the IPA is being abolished next spring anyway, under current government plans. The functions of the IPA – to regulate and promote effect delivery of national infrastructure – are being merged with the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), which is a panel of experts selected by government to provide advice on priorities.
The IPA and NIC will be replaced by a single new organisation within government called the National Infrastructure & Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which is set to be operational by spring 2025, and the same time as a new 10-year national infrastructure strategy is published.
Nick Smallwood joined the IPA five years ago from the oil industry. He is a former chief projects engineer at Shell.
Smallwood has overseen the growth of the government project delivery function, which has swollen to more than 28,000 staff, and introduced professional accreditation and training programmes for civil servants involved in project delivery.
According to the IPA, he has “ensured the effective delivery of major projects through strengthening assurance frameworks and developing internationally recognised tools for project professionals. He has also paved the way for driving modernisation and digitalisation, while embedding sustainable practice in project delivery,” the IPA said.
Nick Smallwood himself said: “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together, creating public services that will benefit future generations.”
In a speech at Skanska’s UK head office in October, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones explained the need for a projects restructure in Whitehall. “The National Infrastructure Commission, as we all know, has produced excellent strategic reports of what infrastructure the country needs and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s expertise and commitment to delivering critical infrastructure projects is unmatched. But the government has collectively still failed to deliver in the past. This is what we will change,” he said.
“Building on the work of the NIC and the IPA, NISTA will bring oversight of strategy and delivery into one organisation, developing and implementing our 10 year infrastructure strategy in conjunction with industry, while driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country. In short, it will bridge the gap between what we build and how we build it. It will be a crucial part of our plan to improve delivery.”
Sir John Armitt was due to retire as chair of the National Infrastructure Commission on 18th January 2025, by when he will have served 10 years as a commissioner. However, has had his term office extended until July 2025 to overlap with the establishment of NISTA. He will be 79 by then, however, so is unlikely to be considered a candidate for an executive role at NISTA.
