We asked whether the Bank had mechanisms in place to manage pressures from competing government departments looking for the Bank to invest in their policy areas. The Bank told us that it is operationally independent to make its own decisions, with an Accounting Officer and a Board as part of that independence.61 The Bank told us it has “very active discussions” with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy because its portfolio overlaps with that of the Bank. The Bank also described working with DLUHC, the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). However, the Bank’s Accounting Officer told us he had not yet established personal connections with DLUHC or Defra, 16 months into the Bank’s operations.62 61 Q 92 62 Q 91 The Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank 17