All eyes are on the new infrastructure commissioners, appointed last week, as they begin their programme of work to determine Britain’s infrastructure priorities. CECA’s Marie-Claude Hemming explains the challenge.

We know that access to transport and utility networks is fundamental to the future success of the UK economy. Yet the 2015-16 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report ranks the UK 24th on overall infrastructure quality.

While this is a marked improvement on last year, our country still relies on networks developed over one hundred years ago.

The development of infrastructure in the UK has, historically, lacked long-term strategy meaning that large projects such as Crossrail and High Speed 1 have taken far too long to develop and build.

"It is vital that the Commission is given both the time and the firepower it needs to do its job properly. We know that, whatever the decisions the Commission makes, it will face opposition from some quarters. The best way to overcome such criticism is to be right."

In reality, those city workers who began their careers in 1990 when test drilling for Crossrail was underway, will be closer to retirement age by the time the project is complete in 2018-19.

Today, the delays we see in solving the problems of airport capacity reflect the challenge of having no long-term plan.

And these delays, mainly caused by a lack of political consensus, have been costly for the taxpayer and UK plc.

Getting by on a lick and a promise cannot last forever. In order to develop the infrastructure to support economic and social growth we need to create an environment where the right projects can be delivered efficiently.

Such an environment would ensure that all those affected by infrastructure: customers, developers, supply chains, businesses and communities, get the most out of any investment.

Our members are among those for whom the impact is worst where projects get wrapped up in red tape. Perhaps this is why they were early champions for an independent infrastructure commission , established with cross-party support to analyse the strategic opportunities and challenges facing the UK, identify the best way to respond, and then deliver projects which are on time and on budget.

"Get it right and the Commission can play a vital role in helping the public to better understand, and support, future decisions about the UK’s vital national infrastructure."

We were delighted that the Government responded with the announcement of the Independent Infrastructure Commission at the beginning of October.

Chaired by infrastructure thought leader Lord Adonis, with an impressive panel of experts as commissioners, including Sir John Armitt and Lord Heseltine,  the Independent Infrastructure Commission must be treated with the same respect by policy makers as the Office of Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England.

Given the opportunity to thrive, the new body will become a means of ensuring we have longer term thinking when it comes to the development of our infrastructure. It will also open up the debate on infrastructure, thus ensuring that decisions are based on extensive, unbiased evidence on the UK’s infrastructure needs for the coming decades.

But it is vital that the Commission is given both the time and the firepower it needs to do its job properly. We know that, whatever the decisions the Commission makes, it will face opposition from some quarters. The best way to overcome such criticism is to be right, and to be able to demonstrate the thoroughness of its investigations. This can only happen if decisions are not rushed, but are instead based on through and detailed examination.

Get it right and the Commission can play a vital role in helping the public to better understand, and support, future decisions about the UK’s vital national infrastructure.

Marie-Claude Hemming is head of external affairs at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association