National Infrastructure Commission for Wales meeting notes: 17 September 2024

NICW

Dr David Clubb, Chair
Dr Jenifer Baxter, Deputy Chair (Joined at 10:26) 
Helen Armstrong, Commissioner 
Dr Eurgain Powell, Commissioner (Joined 11:00)
Steve Brooks, Commissioner
Eluned Parrott (Joined at 10:12, left at 11:30)

Secretariat / Welsh Government

Stuart Ingram, NICW Secretariat
Nicola Britton, NICW Secretariat (Joined 11:15)

Apologies

Aleena Khan, Commissioner
Nick Tune, Commissioner

The Chair welcomed Commissioners to the meeting with a check-in, celebration of success, declarations of interest, safety and futures moment.  

Safety Moment

A reminder of the practice to blind copy email addresses to recipients of emails where appropriate.

Futures Moment

The Chair announced that he and Eurgain Powell will be shortly undertaking Futures training with the UK Government Office for Science. Others were encouraged to participate in forthcoming sessions which would be circulated.

Declarations of Interest

No new declarations were received.

Action:

Chair to circulate dates of Futures Training opportunities

Action Tracker

The action tracker was noted.  

Notes of Previous Meeting

Minutes of previous meeting were approved.  

Secretariat Report

The Secretariat report was noted.

Invitations to Events

Wales Climate Week is taking place is taking place in November. The flooding report has also generated invitations to the ICE Flooding Conference and NRW Board Sub Committee.

Commissioner Updates

None given

Consultation responses/ policy updates

None

Year 1 Renewable Energy Report

There is a new Cabinet Secretary covering NICW and the renewable energy portfolio, Rebecca Evans. The Chair would write to Cabinet Secretary seeking a meeting. NICW is still awaiting a response from the Welsh Office on the Crown Estate issue. A meeting with Ofgem is to be arranged and it was noted that a discussion with National Grid Energy Distribution was scheduled.

Year 2 Flood Research

Eluned Powell updated the meeting that the flooding report is due to be launched on 17th October. The report had been presented to the WG Flood Committee with a warm reception. A meeting with Huw Irranca Davies has been scheduled. The agenda for the launch event was developing. A meeting with Equinox to prepare for the launch had been held, with further discussions to follow.

Year 3 Climate Change Communication

Inception meetings for the 2 research contracts have been held and stakeholder engagement plans are being developed. The membership of the Project Reference Groups is still to be finalised. Fortnightly catch-up meetings are in the diary. A meeting between year 2 and year 3 Commissioners was requested.  

IWL Conference

NICW have committed to being a sponsor of this event and can send 4 delegates. The Chair will check our commitment for panel membership / suggested speakers with the IWL.

IWA Infrastructure Futures Essay Collection

Essays have being published weekly by NICW and IWA , the anthology collection will be published online on 19th September. Printed copies will be made available to distribute generally and at the flood event.

Futures Map

An inception meeting with the School of International Futures in due to be held on 18th September. 

Actions:

Chair to write to Rebecca Evans regarding the new Cabinet Secretary responsibility for NICW and renewable energy Secretariat to arrange a meeting between the Year 2 and Year 3 lead Commissioners Chair to check with IWL regarding our commitments to the event in November.

The Chair welcomed Sophie Harris, Maisie Wallace and Charlotte Long from Equinox to the meeting. They gave a presentation on their approach to the NICW contract, and discussions were held on the nature of the work, crossovers with other organisations and forthcoming events and training sessions.

Action:

Secretariat to circulate a copy of the presentation from Equinox

A questionnaire had previously been circulated to Commissioners and they were encouraged to complete this by the deadline of Friday 20th September. A stakeholder questionnaire would be circulated shortly.

The Chair has drafted and circulated a NICW Strategic Approach and asked for feedback. This categorised NICW activity in terms of three areas: foundational, external and projects. Discussion was had on ‘what good looks like’ and different qualitative approaches were suggested. The Chair will recirculate the paper for comment.

The Chair reported had held his review meeting with the Deputy Director, Planning. This concluded the individual Commissioner process. The Secretariat reported that these would now be submitted to the Cabinet Secretary with advice on extending the terms of office of Commissioners as previously discussed.

It was noted that Tuesday mornings are now increasingly difficult for some Commissioners to attend meetings.

Action:

Chair to circulate an online survey for Commissioner availability

A topic for NICWs Year 4 research was discussed with various suggestions put forward including: Green/Blue/ Grey Infrastructure, Electrification, Alternative Energy Generation, Skills, the Implementation Gap and a assessment for future NICWs to respond to.

Action:

Secretariat to arrange a separate session to discuss Year 4 topics

A range of places to visit were discussed.

The Chair will be writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the use of the Green Book in relation to transport schemes and time saved.

Jenifer Baxter offered a webinar opportunity to NICW on resilience to climate change.

The next meeting will take place 22nd October at Bute Park, Cardiff