Chancellor George Osbourne is to launch the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and committed to spending £100bn on infrastructure by 2020.

In this Parliament, the Chancellor has pledged to spend the money on new roads, rail, flood defences and other vital projects.

The NIC, which is to be unveiled at the National Railway Museum in York today 30 October, is to be led by former Cabinet minister Lord Adonis.

Other commissioners include:

• Lord Heseltine – the former deputy prime minister who has long championed the regeneration of Britain's inner cities through infrastructure investment.

• Sir John Armitt – the former chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, and next year's President of the Institute of Civil Engineers.

• Professor Tim Besley – a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and the LSE's Growth Commission, which recommended an independent infrastructure body.

• Demis Hassabis – artificial intelligence researcher, neuroscientist and head of DeepMind Technologies.


• Sadie Morgan – a founding director of dRMM Architects and Design Panel Chair of HS2.

• Bridget Rosewell – a senior adviser at Volterra and former Chief Economist and Chief Economic Adviser to the Greater London Authority.

• Sir Paul Ruddock – chairman of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the University of Oxford Endowment.

The Chancellor will also set out plans to 'get Britain building', explaining that infrastructure will be at the heart of next month's Spending Review.

Billions of pounds are expected to be raised from a suite of asset sales, which will be reinvested back into infrastructure projects.

The initial focus of the NIC will be in three key areas, including:

• Northern connectivity, particularly identifying priorities for future investment in the North's strategic transport infrastructure to improve connectivity between cities, especially east-west across the Pennines.

• London's transport system, particularly reviewing strategic options and identifying priorities for future investment in large scale transport improvements – on road, rail and underground – including Crossrail 2.

• Energy, particularly exploring how the UK can better balance supply and demand, aiming for an energy market where prices are reflective of costs to the overall system.

The Chancellor said: "At the Spending Review, I will commit to investing £100bn in infrastructure over the next five years and we are creating an independent commission to give us a long-term, unbiased analysis of the country's major infrastructure needs.

"We need to think long-term and deliver a cross-party consensus on what we need to build."

Lord Adonis added: "For Britain to get on with the job of delivering high-quality infrastructure that benefits everyone, you need more than just a commitment to invest – you need long term forward plans and the maximum possible consensus.

"That is what the National Infrastructure Commission is here to promote."

(LM/CD)