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Ports in England and Wales will be left to make their own decisions about where and when to invest in infrastructure, the government said last week. Shipping minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: "Central to our approach is our view that commercial port operators are best-placed to make decisions about where and when to invest. We do not propose any substantial change in the operating and regulatory framework for ports."

The decision to leave development choices to the market was welcomed by the  Freight Transport Association (FTA). The FTA's head of global supply chain policy, Christopher Snelling, said: "This should ensure that the right facilities are built for the needs of British businesses and consumers." The government statement came in advance of the Department for Transport's interim ports policy review paper, which will be published this autumn. This will deal more directly with Britain's inland connections in the light of the Eddington report.

The FTA wants the government to clarify in that report how much it is going to fund infrastructure improvements to complement port growth. Snelling said: "We have already seen the introduction of a surcharge on imports at the port of Felixstowe to raise the £85m needed to fund rail enhancements as far away as Yorkshire. Unless the government sets out a clear policy on funding inland infrastructure we could see this happening in ports across the  country in future. This would add to the costs of the supply chain in the UK, adding to the cost of goods in the shops."