Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Accepted
New HS2 Ltd CEO to reinforce capability, reduce costs, and focus on Phase 1 delivery.
Conclusion
HS2 Ltd now has new leadership, with Mark Wild appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and taking up the role in December 2024. He brings his experience of delivering Crossrail into operation and is tasked with delivering the programme’s reset.49 He told us that the three things that he needs to do with HS2 Ltd are: reinforce its capability, particularly commercial management in the teams that are managing the contractors, bear down on costs and drive productivity; create an organisation that will operate the railway in the future; and focus HS2 Ltd’s culture on the singular purpose of delivering Phase 1 at the lowest feasible cost.50 The Department also told us that it would expect changes to how it would sponsor and oversee HS2 Ltd following the conclusion of the Major Transport Project Governance and Assurance Review early in 2025.51 48 C&AG’s Report, para 4.4 49 Qq 1–3, 5 50 Qq 42, 71 51 Qq 72–73 18 2 Delivering Euston station
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation, detailing that the new CEO has commenced a comprehensive change programme, made executive leadership changes, and a new Chair is being appointed to review board capability and fill gaps. New KPIs and a performance-related pay scheme are also being introduced.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2026 5.2 The new CEO of HS2 Ltd started in post in December 2024. He has commenced, as part of the reset, a comprehensive change programme to reshape the organisation so that it has the skills and capabilities needed to deliver HS2. The reset programme is expected to conclude in 2026. 5.3 The new CEO has made some early changes to the Executive leadership team to help drive the reset work. Parallel activity is being undertaken by the department to ensure it has the right structures, skills and capabilities in place. 5.4 A new Chair is being appointed to succeed the previous Chair of HS2 Ltd who departed on 31 March 2025. An early priority for the new Chair will be to review board capability and capacity and make recommendations to the department drawing from a wide range of evidence, including the Major Projects Governance and Assurance Review. The department will commence a recruitment exercise to fill identified gaps in the Board’s capability, which will be undertaken in line with the requirements in the Governance Code on Public Appointments. 5.5 Key performance indicators for 2025-26 are being agreed by the department. Performance against these will be published in HS2 Ltd’s Annual Report and Accounts and are the principal means by which organisation-wide performance will be assessed. HS2 Ltd is also introducing a new performance-related pay scheme to incentivise its most senior leaders, which will be directly linked to HS2 delivery to time and budget.