Every five years the Commission publishes a National Infrastructure Assessment which analyses the UK’s long term economic infrastructure needs, and presents a strategic vision over the next thirty years and setting out recommendations for how identified needs should be met.

The Second National Infrastructure Assessment is our second such report. Published on 18 October 2023 it is informed by the Commission’s core objectives to support sustainable economic growth across all regions of the UK, improve competitiveness, improve quality of life, and support climate resilience and the transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Watch the launch event, with a summary of the Assessment’s findings presented by Commissioners

The Assessment covers every infrastructure sector, with recommendations for transport, energy, water and wastewater, flood resilience, digital connectivity, and waste. It presents a 30 year view of the infrastructure needs within the UK’s government competence and identifies the policies and funding to meet them.

Five years on from our first Assessment, this second report recognises the UK has already made significant progress in boosting renewable electricity generation, devolving more transport funding to city regions, and building its gigabit cable broadband networks.

But it also highlights there is still a lot to do to prepare the country for three key challenges that lie ahead:

• decarbonising energy and achieving net zero emissions
• supporting economic growth across all regions
• improving climate resilience and the environment

The Assessment is the product of over two years’ work by the Commission, which involved extensive engagement with stakeholders across all sectors of infrastructure.