Value for Money

The Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank

Published 1 July 2022 7 recommendations HM Treasury Banks and financial servicesBusiness and industryCommercial and financial managementCorporate financeInfrastructure finance nao.org.uk
This report looks at the set-up of the UK infrastructure Bank, including HM Treasury’s planning before launch.

Recommendations (7)

Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below
6
Accepted
1
Rejected
4
Implemented
2
In Progress
6
NAO Confirmed
HM Treasury; UK Infrastructure Bank
Rec 1 Rejected No Longer Relevant
a. HM Treasury should confirm by the end of summer 2022 how it intends to conduct a post-implementation review and include in that work an assessment of how the Bank?s initial structures are working in practice and whether they are appropriate to the Bank?s ongoing role.
Page 12, Paragraph 21, point a Not complete
HM Treasury; UK Infrastructure Bank
Rec 2 Accepted Implemented
The Bank should, learning from the Green Investment Bank and British Business Bank interventions, further develop its understanding of where infrastructure needs are greatest so that it routinely informs investment decisions and prioritises them. It should bring this understanding of needs together with a clear view of what it can do best, based on its skills and information about its performance.
Page 12, Paragraph 21, point b Q2 2023-24
HM Treasury; UK Infrastructure Bank
Rec 3 Accepted Implemented
In developing its performance measurement framework, the Bank should ensure it has metrics and benchmarks allowing it to assess in detail whether it is balancing all of its objectives and delivering on the government?s ambition for it. HM Treasury and the Bank need to develop a more robust plan for evaluating the Bank?s activities over the longer term, to help it measure additionality and assess which of its tools are most cost-effective.
Page 12, Paragraph 21, point c Q2 2023-24
National Wealth Fund Ltd
Rec 4 Accepted Work in Progress
e. The Bank should develop clear aims for its advisory function and develop measures to help it assess performance over time. It should develop a formal and strategic approach to engagement, including communicating to market participants a clear picture of what the Bank is best placed to do and, correspondingly, what it will not do
Page 12, Paragraph 21, point e Q3 2024-25
National Wealth Fund Ltd
Rec 5 Accepted Work in Progress
d. The Bank should benchmark its costs for individual support functions, such as HR, and the organisation as a whole, with suitable comparators. It should work towards bringing together performance and financial information to help it assess its own cost-effectiveness.
Page 12, Paragraph 21, point d Q4 2024-25
HM Treasury; UK Infrastructure Bank
Rec 6 Accepted Implemented
The Bank should work with central government and other public bodies to structure its engagement, including through formal arrangements where appropriate, to maximise opportunities for co-operation and co-ordination where beneficial and to manage areas of potential duplication.
Page 13, Paragraph 21, point f Q4 2022-23
HM Treasury; UK Infrastructure Bank
Rec 7 Accepted Implemented
The Bank should develop approaches to assessing whether its engagement with local authorities, other stakeholders and the market is working as intended.
Page 13, Paragraph 21, point g Q2 2023-24

Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

Thirty-Fourth Report - The Creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank
Public Accounts Committee · 25 January 2023 · 17 recommendations
View PAC report & government responses parliament.uk