Recommendation 14

The Ministry of Defence incurred a £1.6 billion loss in 2024–25 simply through cancelling projects.33 We challenged witnesses on whether it was acceptable that some bodies incur such huge public losses by halting projects after large sums have already been spent.34 HMT informed us the reason for the Ministry of Defence not proceeding with its projects was largely due to a change in government policy.35 Similarly, losses of £290 million in the Home Office related to cancelling the Migration and Economic Development Partnership Agreement with Rwanda, and £472 million in the Department for Transport relating to the cancellation of eight road schemes, were also attributed to shifts in government priorities.36 As we have stated earlier in this report, this is a particularly egregious example of poor value for money for the taxpayer and the main Departments responsible should be informed by the Treasury that they expect considerable improvements in the future.