Catherine Howard will advise the chancellor on how to ensure the government’s infrastructure agenda supports the growth mission
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has appointed planning lawyer Catherine Howard as infrastructure and planning adviser to help drive through the next phase of the government’s planning reforms.
Howard is a partner at the global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP who specialises in major infrastructure projects. She has expertise in development consent orders, which provide planning permission for nationally significant infrastructure projects; environmental regulation; and judicial reviews.
She will be responsible for providing expert and strategic advice to Reeves and other Treasury ministers on how to ensure that the government’s infrastructure agenda supports its growth mission, according to terms of reference for the role. She will do this by working with senior officials and special advisers to address “key barriers faced by public and private infrastructure and housing schemes in the UK”.
She will also be asked to help “support stakeholder relationships and engage with other relevant government departments to ensure cross-government coherence”.
Howard will also carry out “structured stakeholder engagement” in the form of roundtables and meetings with industry bodies, businesses, and governmental and non-governmental organisations.
Starting yesterday, she will work up to four days a week, unpaid, until the Autumn Budget on 26 November.
In a press release, the Treasury said: “With the planning and infrastructure bill going through parliament and barriers to private investment being torn down, the chancellor is pushing ahead to create the conditions to secure vital long-term investments in UK infrastructure and support Britain’s economic renewal.”
Howard said it was a “privilege” to take on the position, “helping the government to achieve a step change in how we deliver major infrastructure and housing”.
“With the right framework in place, good decision-making can enable swift progress – improving our natural environment and supporting the government’s growth mission. The planning and infrastructure bill makes major strides towards this goal. I look forward to working with stakeholders to consider how we build on this important agenda,” she added.
Reeves said: “I am determined we do what it takes to get Britain building, unlock private investment and deliver an economy that works for working people – and rewards working people.
“I look forward to working with Catherine to deliver this.”