Yesterday, the Government announced that the new Infrastructure and Projects Authority will take over the remits of Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the Major Projects Authority (MPA), following a merger.
The new organisation will combine the current expertise for the management and delivery of significant economic projects, meaning that the Government will ultimately control all the related activities via one body.
Its main role will be to oversee projects that have an impact on large areas of the country or the UK as a whole, like HS2 and Crossrail, in addition to transformation programmes such as Universal Credit.
The official launch date has been given as 1st January 2016 and Tony Meggs – currently the chief executive of MPA – will become the first leader.
Chancellor George Osborne, as well as the minister for the Cabinet Office, will receive direct reports from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority as soon as it has been launched.
George Osborne said: “By bringing together Infrastructure UK with the Major Projects Authority, and creating the new National Infrastructure Commission, we are moving to the next stage in our plan to ensure Britain’s economy gets the transformational projects it needs.
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock, said: “The new Infrastructure and Projects Authority is a further step forward in delivering what Britain needs to prosper in the twenty-first century.
“By combining projects expertise with funding authority we will improve the government’s ability to deliver, and the economic security that comes with it.
“Tony Meggs has been a hugely respected chief executive of the MPA and has the leadership and capability to make the new organisation a great success.”