154: Infrastructure Planning Commission publishes its first annual report

This is entry number 154, first published on 18 August 2010, of a blog on the implementation of the Planning Act 2008. Click here for a link to the whole blog. If you would like to be notified when the blog is updated, with links sent by email, click here.

Today's entry reports on the first report of the Infrastructure Planning Commission's work.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is the new body that will examine, and once National Policy Statements (NPSs) are in place, decide, applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects.  Until the coalition government replaces it with the Major Infrastructure Planning Unit in April 2012, that is.

The IPC opened its doors in an advisory capacity on 1 October 2009, and became the body to which applications are made for nationally significant transport and energy projects on 1 March 2010. 

Under the terms of the Planning Act, the IPC must issue a report covering each year ending on 31 March.  The IPC has now issued its first report, covering the period 1 October to 31 March, i.e. the five advisory months and one month where it could receive applications, although it did not in fact receive any applications until early August.  Not really an annual report, more of a six-month report - indeed it is referred to as an 'end of period report'.  The report can be found here.

In his foreword, IPC Chair Sir Mike Pitt expects that the commissioners and staff of the IPC will continue to have a role after its abolition, saying 'There is a range of possible business models and governance arrangements for the new combined organisation ... The Commission and Board of Directors is ready to adapt and change accordingly.'

The senior officers of the IPC are set out, and there has been some change at the top.  John Saunders took over from Kevin Williamson as Chief Executive on 1 January.  Ian Gambles, Director of Strategy, combined his role with that of Jonathan Bore, Director of Casework, in March when the latter left, to become Director of Operations.  Not mentioned, since it happened after 31 March, but Douglas Evans, Director of Legal Services, has also departed.  The two non-executive directors on the board are Sheila Drew Smith OBE (an economist who is on the board of the now doomed Audit Commission) and David Clements (non-executive director of Partnerships UK and an NHS Trust), who took up their posts on 1 March, replacing three commissioners who had been carrying out the role temporarily.

In its first six months of operation, the IPC dealt with 270 enquiries (details of which can be found on the register of advice on its website).  Although it didn't receive any applications, it issued one screening opinion (whether environmental impact assessment (EIA) is necessary), and three scoping opinions (what EIA should cover).  It 'decided to widen the pool of consultees' and republished each scoping opinion four months after their original publication.  Their register of projects notified to them rose from zero to 28 during the period (it is now 49).

The report analyses performance against six 'critical success factors' and five 'key performance indicators'.  As part of the success factor 'legitimacy', the report gives six quotes from 'stakeholders' on the IPC's performance, including one from yours truly.  Fame at last.

Finally, financial information is laid out.  You can see how much each of the directors was paid, if you want, and that the IPC received £3.7m in financing during the six months covered.

So that is the story of the IPC's first six months.  We can expect one more annual report, to 31 March 2011, and possibly another to 2012, but after that the reporting system will depend on the provisions of the forthcoming Localism Bill, expected to be introduced in Parliament at the end of this year.

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