Thirty-Fourth Report - The Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 45 25 January 2023
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 23 items (5 recs)
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Government Response (AI assessment · 23 of 23 classified)
Accepted 8
Acknowledged 12
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 1
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty fourth report from Session 2022-23 · published 12 Apr 2023
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Recommendations & Conclusions

12 results
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
Conclusion
On the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from HM Treasury (the Treasury) and the UK Infrastructure Bank (the Bank) on the creation of the Bank.1
Government Response Summary
The government states that the decision to establish the UK Infrastructure Bank (the Bank) at pace was prioritised to ensure that the institution could begin to deliver on its objectives as soon as possible, supporting investment in infrastructure throughout the UK and helping the government reach its net zero targets.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Treasury intends the Bank to be a “long-lasting institution” providing financing for infrastructure projects...
Conclusion
The Treasury intends the Bank to be a “long-lasting institution” providing financing for infrastructure projects well into the future.21 This label echoes the Green Investment Bank’s status as an “enduring institution,” which was subsequently sold to the private sector five … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury and the Bank will 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, and the Treasury will update the Framework Document and Strategic Steer to ensure that they reflect the new statutory footing for the Bank.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Treasury provided the Bank with £22 billion in capital to cover the first five...
Conclusion
The Treasury provided the Bank with £22 billion in capital to cover the first five years of operation; beyond then, it expects the Bank to be self-financing. We asked whether this was a realistic target. The Bank told us it … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury and the Bank will 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, and the Treasury will update the Framework Document and Strategic Steer to ensure that they reflect the new statutory footing for the Bank.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Acknowledged
The costs associated with setting-up the Bank as a separate institution, such as procuring new...
Conclusion
The costs associated with setting-up the Bank as a separate institution, such as procuring new IT systems, make it a more costly option than alternatives such as extending the remit of existing bodies.31 The Bank told us it is working … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury will update the Framework Document and Strategic Steer to ensure that they reflect the new statutory footing for the Bank, and 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.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank told us it is currently developing several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure...
Conclusion
The Bank told us it is currently developing several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure its success. For its two policy objectives, these include carbon emissions abated, jobs created and productivity. The Bank told us it expects to abate 2 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Bank will work with the Treasury and UKGI to ensure that future metrics are clear and stretching to ensure the Bank continues to deliver against its strategic objectives, and expects to publish a further document setting out its Impact Framework in the summer of 2023.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank has developed arrangements for reporting performance and emerging issues to its shareholder (the...
Conclusion
The Bank has developed arrangements for reporting performance and emerging issues to its shareholder (the Treasury), through the shareholder representative (UKGI). However, the Committee has seen other examples in government where similar arrangements apply and where things have gone wrong … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Treasury's Shareholder Representative on the UKIB Board is UKGI who are managed independently but are wholly owned by HM Treasury, and the Treasury are responsible for oversight of UKGI and reporting on their performance to Parliament.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank’s 10 deals to date have focused on clean energy (five) and digital (four)...
Conclusion
The Bank’s 10 deals to date have focused on clean energy (five) and digital (four) projects.49 These deals have generally been in areas of technology and risk where projects are relatively common, for example broadband and solar power farms.50 The … Read more
Government Response Summary
A lead point of contact within the Bank has been assigned for departments that are most critical to delivering our mission, each of whom has regular engagement with their department to understand the government’s strategic priorities and help originate and assess investment opportunities.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank’s functions include providing an expert advisory service to help local authorities and other...
Conclusion
The Bank’s functions include providing an expert advisory service to help local authorities and other project sponsors to develop and finance infrastructure projects.53 The Bank told us that establishing this service is not straightforward, compared to its local authority lending … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government and the Bank welcome the Committee’s recommendation and will provide information later in Spring 2023 after completion of the pilot projects. The Bank will share insights from pilots and engagement with local authorities and is already engaged with a range of local authorities for its next wave of advisory work.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank told us that in developing the pilots, it wanted to try to understand...
Conclusion
The Bank told us that in developing the pilots, it wanted to try to understand and define problems that it thinks will be most common across the local authority landscape, such as financing heat networks, zero-emission buses and social housing … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government and the Bank welcome the Committee’s recommendation and will provide information later in Spring 2023 after completion of the pilot projects. The Bank will share insights from pilots and engagement with local authorities and is already engaged with a range of local authorities for its next wave of advisory work.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Acknowledged
The Bank has not reached a decision on how it will fund its advisory function.
Conclusion
The Bank has not reached a decision on how it will fund its advisory function. Decisions on funding will be important given the Bank’s expectation that demand will be significant, and that it will not have the resource to cover … Read more
Government Response Summary
The Bank will share the key insights developed through the pilots and its engagement with a range of local authorities to date in Spring 2023, and is already engaged with a range of local authorities for its next wave of advisory work, to be announced shortly.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Acknowledged
The activities and policy objectives of the Bank overlap with departments across government.
Conclusion
The activities and policy objectives of the Bank overlap with departments across government. For example, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has policy responsibilities in relation to local government and to regional and local economic growth.59 The … Read more
Government Response Summary
A lead point of contact within the Bank has been assigned for departments that are most critical to delivering our mission, each of whom has regular engagement with their department to understand the government’s strategic priorities and help originate and assess investment opportunities.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
We asked whether the Bank had mechanisms in place to manage pressures from competing government...
Conclusion
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, … Read more
Government Response Summary
A lead point of contact within the Bank has been assigned for departments that are most critical to delivering our mission, each of whom has regular engagement with their department to understand the government’s strategic priorities and help originate and assess investment opportunities.
HM Treasury
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