What is the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA)?

The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) combines the functions of two organisations:

• The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), an external body that assessed the government’s progress on infrastructure plans and offered advice and recommendations.
• The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), which sat within the government and supported the delivery of major infrastructure in the UK. It also engaged with other governments around the world to share and learn from best practice.

NISTA sits within HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. It's responsible for social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc), as well as economic infrastructure (water, energy, transport, etc).

As of June 2025, ICE Fellow Becky Wood leads the new infrastructure body as CEO.

Wood was previously a partner at consultancy EY and has acted as a commercial advisor for the IPA.

She has a decade of experience with the Department for Transport, overseeing major infrastructure developments such as Crossrail and Thameslink.

History

The Labour Party first revealed plans to create the ‘new, powerful’ NISTA in its election manifesto in June 2024.

Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed these plans in a speech on 11 October 2024.

He said NISTA would “bridge the gap between what we build and how we build it” and address past failures in infrastructure delivery.

Why was NISTA created?

By merging the NIC and the IPA into a single body, the government hopes to improve the delivery of major capital projects.

These include some of the biggest, most challenging schemes, such as High Speed 2 (HS2).

To achieve this, Jones has said NISTA will have “a strong mandate” and be subject to direct oversight from ministers at the centre of government.

During his speech in October 2024, Jones outlined three key aims for NISTA:

1. Develop and implement the government’s next infrastructure strategy
2. Unlock private investment in infrastructure
3. Streamline planning to speed up the consenting process for major projects

How does NISTA advise and support the government?

Before the merger of the NIC and IPA, the former operated as an independent body.

This allowed it to offer impartial advice to decision-makers. When NISTA was established as a government agency, many, including the ICE, argued that it should retain its independent voice.

To this end, NISTA has set up an Expert Advisory Council to help the body deliver on its objectives. As independent experts, the six council members offer constructive challenge and scrutiny to ministers and to NISTA itself.

The council chair is ICE Fellow Julia Prescot CBE, who was appointed in February 2026. Five new members were appointed in September 2026:

• ICE Past President Professor Jim Hall
• Fiona Driscoll
• ICE Fellow Simon Wright OBE
• James Wardlaw
• Philippa Powell

Meanwhile, moving the IPA into NISTA creates opportunities to strengthen some of its roles and share best practice in delivery across the government and around the world.

This could include following the Construction Playbook, attending the Major Projects Leadership Academy and continuing the work of the IPA International Unit.

Drawing on insight from industry experts, the ICE has provided six key recommendations to ensure NISTA and the government’s 10YIS are successful.

Read the recommendations

*This explainer was first published on 1 April 2025.