BCC: Business leaders to review UK’s infrastructure framework

Chief executives, managing directors, and policy chiefs from some of the UK’s biggest companies – including Network Rail, British Gas, and Google – have met in London for the first meeting of the Business Infrastructure Commission.

The Commission was created by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) to draw upon expertise from leading figures in relevant industries, and to set the agenda for the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities.

At the meeting, the seventeen commissioners agreed to:

• Outline a vision for the future of UK infrastructure.
• Highlight impediments that currently hamper infrastructure development.
• Re-examine the roles of the public and private sector to ensure the efficiency of the UK’s future infrastructure.

Commenting, David Frost, Director General of the BCC and a Commission member, said:

“This country’s infrastructure is currently operating at full capacity, and it’s essential to consider how it can be made more efficient in the future. This is not just about building new projects, but examining where we can get more out of what currently exists.

“A first class infrastructure is vital to the health of our economy and will underpin recovery. Businesses need assurance that the UK will be an attractive place to invest in the future, in order to maintain its competitiveness in a global market.

“This is all about long-term thinking, so that in twenty or thirty years the rest of the world sees the UK as a genuine business hub, and rightly chooses to invest and locate here.”

Ends

For further information please contact the BCC press office on 020 7654 5813 or 07825 746812.

Notes to editors

Full list of Business Infrastructure Commissioners:

Professor David Begg (Chair), Chairman of Tube Lines

David Frost, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce

Iain Coucher, Chief Executive, Network Rail

Tony Collins, Chief Executive, Virgin Rail

Nigel Foster, Director, Arup

Paul Cowling, Managing Director, RWE npower renewables

Martyn Pellew, Group Development Director, PD Ports

Andrew Barron, Chief Customer & Operations Officer, Virgin Media

Kanat Emiroglu, Managing Director, British Gas Business, Centrica

Mike Forster, R3 Strategic Director, BAA

Sarah Hunter, Head of UK Public Policy, Google

Andy Godfrey, Public Policy Management, Boots

John Sillitoe, Product & Services Director, Mouchel

Kathryn Oakley, Director of Public Policy, BT Openreach

Steve Masters, Retail Development Director, ASDA

Stephen Burgin, Director, Alstom

Stuart Walton, former Finance Director, Areva T&D

Meetings will be held regularly throughout 2010, and the Business Infrastructure Commission, along with direct representations from Chambers of Commerce, will act as the major influences on the BCC’s lobbying work in Westminster, Whitehall and overseas.

http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/zones/policy/business-infrastructure-commission.html

BCC is campaigning for all political parties to commit to investment in our vital business infrastructure. Over the coming months, we will be publishing information on where limited investment can be used most cost effectively, while highlighting a greater role for private finance.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is the national voice of local business.

The BCC sits at the heart of a powerful nationwide network of Accredited Chambers of Commerce, serving over 100,000 businesses across the UK, which employ over five million people. For more information visit: www.britishchambers.org.uk