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ICE State of the Nation to double as report on Coalition success - UPDATED

The Institution of Civil Engineers' State of the Nation report, due to be unveiled this morning (Wednesday) will inevitably be seen as an assessment of the infrastructure achievements of the Coalition Government.

The last ICE State of the Nation report on infrastructure was published in 2010 as the coalition came to power; the new one four years later comes out as the government moves into its last few months before the General Election.

Although the ICE report is being launched at a major event in London and on line this morning, reporting restrictions remain in place until Thursday morning. So while we wait, what should we expect? Will a government which has strongly supported the importance of infrastructure to the economy have passed or failed the various categories in the State of the Nation report?

Yes, for some and no for others is the assumption.

Sectors - Infrastructure Intelligence view on likely score changes since 2010

Energy:

2010 D; 2014 D?

              ACTUAL C-

Local transport:

2010 D; 2014 D? 

              ACTUAL D-

Strat transp network:

2010 B; 2014 B+? 

              ACTUAL B

Water:

2010 B; 2014 B+? 

              ACTUAL B

Flooding:

2010 C; 2014 C? 

              ACTUAL C-

Waste: 

2010 C; 2014 C? 

              ACTUAL C+

Starting with the sectors with the poor marks in 2010 (because they generally prompt the most interesting analysis), the two sectors marked down with a D – meaning at risk – in 2010 were energy and local transport. Both are unlikely to have improved their mark in 2014. 

On energy: In 2010 the ICE said that urgent decisions were needed on nuclear power, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage for coal power stations, with a clear timeline for government action.

But in truth there has been very little urgency to report; the new nuclear programme may or may not start this year depending on the results of a row with Europe over prices being seen as subsidies; there’s a stop on wind energy on land and a lot of talk about offshore wind but major technical issues to overcome particularly in deep water.

And carbon capture is still a bit of a dream. The dash for gas is back at the top of the agenda but meanwhile power distribution networks are negotiating with industrial customers to cut down on use at peak times to help maintain general supplies.

But, the recognition by government of the need for urgency is now there when it probably wasn’t in 2010, though largely down to the imperative of not having to rely on unstable regions or regimes for the UK's power; fracking is the new buzz word and the building blocks for a programme of action are in place finally in the form of the Energy Act and Electricity Market Reform providing certainty on pricing for investors.

The distribution networks are reporting a rush of alternative energy projects looking to feed into the grid. This year should be the year energy is properly tackled.

"In 2010 the ICE said of energy that urgent decisions were needed on nuclear power, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage for coal power stations, with a clear timeline for government action."

On local tranport: In 2010 ICE also awarded a D to local transport saying the local road network was in dire need of adequate funding and good asset management, more public transport was required to provide alternatives to the car and people should be encouraged to shift to more sustainable modes. The 2014 score is unlikely to be anything other than a D again.

Money has been found for potholes but cuts in local government spending are inevitably feeding through to local road maintenance and long term road condition is worsening. Cycling is growing in popularity but is a viable option for some people, mostly in cities. Local public transport investment, apart from in London, is not a success story. A Transport Committee report at the start of June said that investment per head in the capital on public transport was £2,500, in the north east it was £5.

"In 2010 ICE also awarded a D to local transport saying the local road network was in dire need of adequate funding and good asset management, more public transport was required to provide alternatives to the car and people should be encouraged to shift to more sustainable modes."

However the positives are there for the future in terms of Growth Fund and transport fund bids by Local Enterprise Partnerships which will see successful areas able to improve local transport in their areas in the next few years which ICE may recognise on the score sheet.

So what about the success stories? There are many.

The B grade awarded to strategic transport networks should be marked up because back in 2010 ICE wanted Government to enable the construction of new high speed rail routes (tick), invest in existing rail capacity (tick) and tackle chronic highway congestion and improve resilience by using managed motorways  and pinch point capacity programmes (tick).

The politicians have ignored ICE's request for the introduction of road user charging - unsurprisingly.

But even better, government is pushing ahead with Highways Agency reform, a five year budget for strategic roads and Road Investment Strategies mirroring those in operation in rail. Strategic highways are finally getting the attention they deserve.

For the other sectors – water’s B grade should improve if measured against the ICE targets of regulatory reform, demand management etc. Flooding’s C is unlikely to change. Despite huge successes in the winter coastal surges, headlines from Dawlish and Somerset show there is still much to do in terms of understanding and resilience. And sustainable urban drainage is still stuck in bureaucratic black hole.

Waste too will probably still be a C. There’s enthusiastic recycling going on but no nationally understandable plan and more to be done in designing waste out at source.

Frustratingly for the coalition the State of the Nation report 2014 is more like a mid term than a year end report with all the hard work, ambition and potential major success likely to come to fruition in time for the next report and well after the May election.

If you would like to contact Jackie Whitelaw about this, or any other story, please email jackie.whitelaw@infrastructure-intelligence.com.