On 6 September 2010, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published
a working paper on the structure of
infrastructure ownership in the UK. This follows the announcement
by the OFT in May 2010 that it would undertake a stock-take of the
ownership and control across certain economic infrastructure
sectors including ports, airports, energy and water networks, and
car-parks, together with an assessment of how ownership of
infrastructure affects outcomes for consumers in these sectors.
The current working paper relates to the first element of that
stock-taking, the mapping of ownership of infrastructure assets.
The OFT's intention is that it should make available the data
so far gathered and explain the approach the OFT has taken in
compiling this data. The data comes from public sources, with
assistance from the sector regulators, and is effectively a
'snapshot' taken between April and August 2010 of where
ownership of the relevant infrastructure lies.
