Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 3
44th Report - Governance and decision-making on major projects
Published 10 Sep 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Governance and decision-making on major projects All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We are not yet convinced there is a coherent approach to making decisions on major projects as part of wider plans for local areas and national missions. The ultimate responsibility for a large and complex project currently sits within one department despite the fact these projects can affect multiple sectors of society and the economy. We were told that the Government intends to use the boards overseeing delivery of the government’s five missions to identify the links between projects where they collectively contribute to a mission. Government also intends to use the infrastructure strategy and pipeline to drive more “place-based” governance and co-ordination of projects which are dependent on each other to deliver outcomes in a specific area. These are in addition to the new arrangements being put in place for mega projects. However, we were unconvinced by witnesses’ explanation of how these separate yet overlapping structures would work in practice, raising the prospect of duplication of work and confusion in delivery without the right skills involved in decision-making recommendation Alongside its Treasury Minute response, the Treasury should write to the Committee with explanations–with worked examples–for how it will ensure major and mega project governance will align with Mission and place-based governance in the delivery of the infrastructure strategy.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 44th Report - Governance and decision-making on major projects (HC 642), 10 September 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-fourth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 10 November 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-Fourth report from Session 2024-26
Published 19 January 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" in each of the responses set out, with some marked as implemented and others given target dates.
- On the Committee's request for a 12-month update on mega-project governance, the government agrees, with a target implementation date of September 2026; the Treasury "will write to the Committee".
- On the £10 billion mega-project threshold and on alignment with Mission and place-based governance, the government agrees and records both recommendations as implemented, stating the Treasury "has written to the Committee".
- On assurance, NISTA "will be reviewing and consulting on the assurance framework holistically"; the Treasury will tie higher Delegated Authority Limits to departments evidencing compliance with standards.
- On reporting, the government agrees; NISTA "will consider how" existing reporting can be integrated with reporting against the Strategy, and the infrastructure pipeline "will be updated at least every six months".