Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We noted that we had previously heard that projects on the GMPP would have their summary business cases published following final approval and evaluations.56 We asked what difference the publications of these could make to project governance. The Treasury told us that it set an expectation that all business cases are published four months after they have received their final sign-off. It said that publication is an important part of improving 51 Committee of Public Accounts, Government’s use of private finance for infrastructure, Thirty-Ninth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 821, 11 July 2025 52 Q 25 53 GMP0006 54 Q 52 55 Q 53 56 Committee of Public Accounts, Lessons from major projects and programmes, Thirty-Ninth Report of Session 2019–21, HC 694, 29 January 2021 17 transparency, setting out the parameters and expectations on which a project is being delivered.57 NISTA highlighted that the publications demonstrated a level of accountability and visibility over what the intention is. It also said that the 10-year infrastructure strategy and the pipeline would become more relevant, noting that there would be annual NISTA updates on performance against the strategy.58 The OVFM told us that publishing a strategy and delivery plan will help to address planning requirements and address transparency to the public.59 57 Qq 66-67 58 Q 66 59 Q 4 18
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".