Recommendation 11

In discussing the historic performance on managing major programmes and the challenges they have faced, the IPA stated that the UK government has some of the most novel and complex programmes in the world, that are probably more complex than many encountered in the private sector. Programmes in both sectors face challenges—the IPA stated that a number of studies have suggested that around 75% of major programmes in the private and public sectors, overspend or are delivered late.18 Nonetheless, the IPA stated that there were practices in the private sector that the public sector could learn from. This included there being more front-end development of programmes at the beginning, focusing on getting the business case and cost estimates to a level of accuracy that stakeholders can approve with more confidence. The IPA stated that government tends to keep options open for too long and should be more decisive about the outcome and intent that a programme is delivering and make choices on scope as early as practically possible.19