MD2876 National Underground Asset Register – London region

1.1 Infrastructure data and innovation is a growing area of work at the GLA and is fully externally funded. The importance of modernising the capital’s infrastructure is recognised in the Economic Recovery Framework recently endorsed by the London Recovery Board. In support of this, the Infrastructure team is responsible for delivering two digital projects: the London region of NUAR and the London Infrastructure Mapping Application (IMA). Both projects gather and organise data from infrastructure providers (utilities providers, transport providers, digital connectivity providers and the Environment Agency) to achieve numerous benefits for Londoners.

1.2 The GLA Infrastructure team has worked with the government’s Geospatial Commission since May 2019 to deliver the London pilot of NUAR. The Geospatial Commission’s project seeks to establish a national digital platform holding data on underground pipes and cables, to increase efficiency and safety when digging onsite. NUAR builds on the GLA’s work on LUAR and a similar pilot in the north east of England.

1.3 The London pilot was originally delivered across six London local authorities, which expanded to 12 in the second year. The team brought together data from all asset owners operating in the local authorities into a prototype digital platform. This work ran across two phases:

• a £1m pilot phase approved by MD2469 (May 2019–March 2020)
• a £1.4m preparation phase approved by MD2564 (April 2020–September 2021).

1.4 The pilot was undertaken because underground asset owners (including infrastructure providers and boroughs) across London have limited visibility of one another’s asset type and location. Information is often contained in formats that make digital sharing difficult and inefficient. This lack of information-sharing can, at worst, lead to injury and loss of life through utility strikes (a worker accidentally hitting an underground utility asset). It also causes delays for providers and can incur additional costs for local authorities as infrastructure providers undertake numerous ‘test digs’ to ascertain the location of an asset. Local authorities and the GLA likewise lack visibility of this asset information, making coordination, improved infrastructure planning and delivery more difficult and expensive. Creating a digital map where providers and the public sector can access information on underground assets is expected to have significant benefits for safety (avoiding utility strikes) and efficiency of works (reducing road network disruption), as well as creating other benefits such as reducing the costs of projects.

1.5 Pilots were completed in two regions: LUAR in London, delivered by the GLA, and a similar pilot in the north east of England. The pilots are now complete and have generated enough evidence to demonstrate that infrastructure providers’ existing datasets on underground assets can be brought together into a single system, and that there are considerable benefits to doing so. The Geospatial Commission has estimated that accidental strikes on underground assets cost £1.2bn a year, directly and indirectly. There is now a commitment to deliver a NUAR in the government’s National Data Strategy, National Infrastructure Strategy and National Geospatial Strategy.

Build phase minimum viable product (MVP): September 2021–March 2023

1.6 As a result of learnings gathered through the pilots described above, the Geospatial Commission has chosen to move forward with its ambition to create a NUAR. The Geospatial Commission has requested that the GLA continues the existing partnership to deliver the national register, and will continue to fully fund the required GLA team through a further grant. The GLA’s work will focus on engaging asset owners in the London region, and supporting them to sign up to NUAR and start sharing data to the platform.

1.7 NUAR will now enter the build phase, expected to last three years. This will be split into two sections. The first 18 months (September 2021–March 2023) will focus on establishing an MVP in three regions: London, the North East of England and Wales. The GLA’s role will focus on the London region. The second 18 months will focus on expanding NUAR nationally. The Geospatial Commission has appointed a supplier to build and deliver NUAR. The supplier will deliver NUAR working alongside the Geospatial Commission and local authority partners in the first three regions.

1.8 The Geospatial Commission proposes to award up to £400,000 of grant funding to the GLA for the GLA to support the Geospatial Commission and their appointed supplier to deliver NUAR in the London region. This grant-funding will cover the first 18 months of the build phase, although we expect the GLA’s role to continue into the second 18 months of the build phase as well. This MD requests receipt of this grant-funding and the expenditure of the funding to help support delivery of NUAR in the London region. The breakdown of expenditure will be £310k on staffing (including the corporate support charge), £30k on programme budget (expenses, licences and technical architecture) and the remainder as contingency. If the GLA’s role continues into the second 18 months of the build phase, this would be subject to a new MD and further funding.

1.9 The Geospatial Commission recognises the GLA’s extensive work during the pilot phase to create buy-in among nearly 40 utilities providers, transport providers, local authorities and telecommunications companies in London, and the technical work required to prepare their data. It recognises the unique role that the GLA can play in the successful delivery of the NUAR platform, and how we can support the supplier to deliver the best result for London, including:

• the established relationships with all London partners and the trust those partners have built in sharing data with us
• the ability to escalate issues to the Mayor’s London Infrastructure Group, which includes CEO-level representatives of all the major utilities providers
• the technical knowledge and expertise we have developed in transforming millions of asset records for London’s partners
• the considerable learning built up over more than two years delivering the pilot in London, which can be shared with new regions as the national register scales up.

1.10 Remaining involved in the next phase of NUAR would allow the GLA to remain at the forefront of innovation, demonstrating the GLA’s commitment to data-sharing and digital transformation in a sector where this can be challenging. NUAR will benefit Londoners as it will allow the infrastructure sector and the GLA to plan infrastructure more effectively, reducing the risk to life, serious injuries and widespread disruption caused when underground pipes and cables are struck by mistake. Having a central digital map of underground pipes and cables will also help make infrastructure and housing delivery in London more efficient. It will create numerous indirect benefits such as improving air quality and promoting healthier streets by reducing congestion on the roads; and it will help to prevent costly delays associated with poor infrastructure planning on development sites. As part of the wider decarbonisation agenda, NUAR will support utilities providers to upgrade and invest in their networks efficiently. See section 4.1 for how it links to Mayoral policies.

1.11 Receipt of the next phase of funding is subject to the GLA signing a grant agreement with the Cabinet Office, which will be approved under the General Delegation/Signatory Permission (as per Mayoral Decision-Making in the GLA) by the Assistant Director for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity.

1.12 The grant agreement with the Cabinet Office will cover funding until March 2023, with a gateway review in February 2022 to release funding for the entirety of the next financial year (April 2022–March 2023), subject to successful programme delivery. Funding is expected to continue throughout, and it is a very minor risk that funding does not continue beyond the gateway.

2.1 NUAR supports the London Recovery Programme by minimising road network disruption and is also expected to reduce infrastructure project delivery issues and related costs. Utility strike avoidance and onsite efficiency will mean fewer delays and road closures while excavating on London roads

2.2 The Mayor’s London Infrastructure Group – comprising CEO-level representatives from London’s leading infrastructure providers, regulators, government, and industry organisations – supports the project, and member organisations have already shared data to the prototype platform.

2.3 The next phase of work will result in an up-to-date digital map of underground assets, covering all 33 London local authorities and all major utilities providers operating in London, by March 2023. This map will be accessible to all data providers and the GLA. Unlike in the pilot, where asset owners provided a one-off cut of data to the prototype platform, the new NUAR platform will have regularly refreshed data so it can be used operationally. Defining a sustainable and scalable way for asset owners to provide this data regularly will be a key component for the next phase of work.

2.4 NUAR will be used to support the government’s four use cases for an underground asset register:

• safe digging – to avoid utility strikes
• onsite efficiency – to create project-efficiency savings
• site planning – to create project-efficiency savings
• data exchange – to create data-efficiency savings.

2.5 The next phase of work will also allow the GLA and the government to investigate additional use cases, including:

• developer advice – to facilitate coordinated gas, water and electricity connections, and any other activity that requires excavation, and supporting delivery of housing
• resilience planning – to identify infrastructure interdependencies and capacity challenges as well as proactively plan around constraints
• improved coordination – to support infrastructure coordination (GLA-specific).

2.6 The GLA will take on three main workstreams in the next phase. All of these will be delivered alongside the Geospatial Commission and the supplier. The GLA’s work will focus on the London region. The three workstreams are detailed below:

• Asset owner engagement and onboarding: The GLA will facilitate relationships with all utility providers and 33 local authorities in London to onboard them to the platform, sign the legal agreements and share data. The GLA will support the Geospatial Commission in convening regular workshops with London partners so they can ask questions and share insights.
• Data transformation and adjustment: The GLA will support the supplier in obtaining asset data from all 33 local authorities and utilities providers operating in the London region and will advise on options to deliver a sustainable and scalable transformation platform so that this can become business as usual, allowing data from disparate sources to feed smoothly into the platform. The GLA will continue to oversee and support the three grant-funded London asset owners in vectorising their data to facilitate wide participation and establish automated data feeds wherever possible. These partners were selected following a competitive grant application process under MD 2564.
• Preparation for a national system: The GLA will offer strategic advice to help government prepare for the launch of NUAR. This includes sharing learning across the three regions, advising on options for making the system interoperable and future-proof, and considering options for cost recovery.

Hiring and procurement

2.7 The next phase of work for NUAR will require the equivalent of three full-time equivalent (FTE) existing posts. In practice the work will be undertaken across four posts, comprising two FTEs working full-time on NUAR, and two FTEs splitting their time 50 per cent on NUAR and 50 per cent on the IMA (another externally funded digital map that is managed by the Infrastructure team). One post (0.5 FTE) is permanent and the other three posts are fixed-term. The employees in post have fixed-term contracts in place which run until Summer 2022. The next phase of NUAR would require extending the fixed-term contracts by one year to Summer 2023.

2.8 The Geospatial Commission’s supplier will provide most of the external expertise. However, the GLA may require some additional external support to deliver the above NUAR workstreams and there will be a contingency budget from the Geospatial Commission for this. Any services required (for example, technical expertise to support data transformation and integration, as well as data modelling refinement) will be procured in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code.

3.1 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Mayor and GLA are subject to the public sector equality duty and must have due regard to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2 The “protected characteristics” are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage/ civil partnership status. The duty involves having appropriate regard to these matters as they apply in the circumstances, including having regard to the need to: remove or minimise any disadvantage suffered by those who share or is connected to a protected characteristic; take steps to meet the different needs of such people; encourage them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low. This can involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without one.

3.3 The benefits of NUAR will have direct and indirect positive impacts for all Londoners, including those with protected characteristics. Most directly it will protect construction workers who are out on site, as accidentally striking a gas pipe can put a worker at risk of serious injury or even death. The latest Office for National Statistics study into migrant labour in the construction industry found that 40 per cent of the construction of buildings workforce in London are non-UK nationals. While the construction industry has a range of occupational profiles and some jobs are highly skilled and well-paid, the sector is volatile and still employs a considerable proportion of its workforce in mid-to-low skilled jobs. These workers are those most directly impacted by poor asset maps and take the highest risk when on site. Having a digital map of underground assets should help workers dig safely without striking an underground buried asset.

3.4 Infrastructure and development works often negatively affect the accessibility of roads and the public realm, having a negative impact on several groups with protected characteristics. Through making infrastructure works more efficient, NUAR will reduce road network disruption and indirectly improve accessibility. Reduced disruption on the roads will also create benefits like reducing noise and improving air quality, which are particular issues in neighbourhoods with vulnerable residents.

3.5 Unforeseen ground conditions are a major obstacle to all construction and housing projects, and particularly affect dense urban areas like those found in London. A digital map of underground pipes and cables will help improve efficiencies in construction and development and will support the government’s and Mayor’s efforts to build back better and greener. This will help Londoners, including groups with protected characteristics, to get the housing and infrastructure they need.

3.6 The GLA convenes the Infrastructure Advisory Panel and Young Professional’s Panel to advise on our work. Both panels bring together a diverse range of leaders in the infrastructure sector to contribute to, challenge and inform the infrastructure team’s work programme. This ensures the GLA’s contributions to NUAR are informed by diverse perspectives.

3.7 In line with the GLA’s recruitment and selection policy, for any NUAR posts that require recruitment in future we will welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage/ civil partnership status.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1 The below table captures links to the London Recovery Programme along with Mayoral strategies:

Key risks and issues

4.2 The following key risks have been identified for the London region of NUAR:

5.1 Approval is being sought for the receipt and expenditure of up to £400,000 grant funding from the Geospatial Commission. The programme will span 18 months over 2021-22 and 2022-23.



5.2 The grant will be claimed in arrears within agreed timeframes and budgeted expenditure for the full programme is detailed below:

5.3 The project team comprises two fixed-term staff members solely devoted to NUAR; one fixed-term staff member splitting their time between NUAR and another externally funded project; and one permanent staff member also splitting their time. As mentioned in section 2.7, contracts for the three fixed term members of staff will need to be extended by one year from current end dates to cover the 18-month project duration. As these posts will be extended on a fixed-term contract basis, the GLA may become liable for redundancy and/or pension capital costs if the appointees have on-going continuous service from a local authority or similar body. These costs cannot yet be substantiated but in the event such costs do arise, they will be subject to further approval with external funding being sought.

6.1 The GLA’s receipt of funds and participation in the NUAR pilot was approved by the Mayor under cover of MD2469; and the GLA’s participation in the NUAR preparation phase was approved by the Mayor under MD2564. Authority is now sought to continue and expand upon the work already done to deliver a national roll-out. The GLA has wide powers under section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act) to promote economic development and wealth creation, promote social development, and promote the improvement of the environment, all in Greater London. These powers are sufficiently broad to cover the proposed use of funds to continue GLA involvement in NUAR for a further period. The report explains how the GLA’s continued involvement will further the GLA’s principal powers in Greater London.

6.2 There are restrictions under section 31 of the GLA Act on the GLA incurring expenditure on doing anything which may be done by Transport for London (TfL). There continues to be some potential overlap between this project and activities within TfL’s powers, and/or within (for example) the powers of TfL’s subsidiary company London Underground Limited (LUL), in respect of assets in highways under TfL’s control as highway or traffic authority, and underground railway assets operated by LUL. To the extent that anything proposed in this decision might be done by TfL, under section 31(6) of the GLA Act the restrictions imposed by section 31 do not prevent the GLA cooperating with, or facilitating or coordinating the activities of, TfL, or any other public body.

6.3 In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the PSED under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010; that is, the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010 and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it. To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.4 The Mayor can approve the receipt of the government’s Geospatial Commission funding in principle. However, this will be subject to an appropriate GLA officer approving the terms of the funding and seeking further legal advice where necessary.

6.5 Once the terms of the funding are understood, the appropriate GLA officer must ensure that they are content that the GLA can comply with any conditions to which the funding is subject; and also must take into account the role of the functional bodies in enabling compliance. In any event no reliance should be placed upon such funding until there is a legally binding commitment from the government’s Geospatial Commission to provide the same.

6.6 Any services, products or external expertise required by the GLA to help support the next phases of the projects must be procured by TfL Procurement, who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

6.7 Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder(s) and the GLA before the commencement of the services.

6.8 Officers have indicated that three fixed-term posts will need extending by one year to help deliver the next phase of NUAR. Under the GLA Act (as amended), the Head of Paid Service (HoPS) may, after consultation with the Mayor and the Assembly and having regard to the resources available and priorities of the Authority:

• appoint such staff as the HoPS considers necessary for the proper discharge of the functions of the Authority (section 67(2))
• make such appointments on such terms and conditions as the HoPS thinks fit (section 70(2)).

6.9 Therefore, should this expenditure be approved, the matter should be referred to the HoPS in order that the HoPS may consider extending the fixed-term posts referred to above.

7.1 A detailed project plan will be agreed with the Geospatial Commission once the new supplier is appointed in September. Interim London user groups have already been established to build momentum and maintain engagement in the London community. The user group consists of representatives from each external participating organisation/company to support delivery, including representatives from the Geospatial Commission. These will continue into the build phase.

7.2 Both projects will be overseen corporately by the Assistant Director for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. The Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills and the Chief Digital Officer will also provide direction. Officers will regularly update key stakeholders, including the Mayor’s London Infrastructure Group and the Geospatial Commission.

7.3 The below table provides an indicative timeline of the next phase of work: