Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 51
51
Accepted
Incremental delivery of infrastructure projects offers better control and earlier benefits
Conclusion
The Department also suggested to us that the delivery of infrastructure has been too focused on “grand projects or big schemes that are binary—you do them or you don’t do them” as opposed to setting a long–term intent and delivering it in smaller incremental stages. The Department explained that in such circumstances it can be easier to commit to each stage, is more controllable as a project, you can learn the lessons from each stage and reapply them to subsequent stages and it is likely to bring passenger benefits and economic benefits sooner, as they are not relying on the whole thing.84 82 Q 63 83 Qq 27, 63 84 Q 64 26
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the conclusion, committing to identify and apply lessons from the HS2 program regarding project delivery approaches during the program reset and transformation of HS2 Ltd. It will outline key lessons to the Committee and provide updates in future Parliamentary reports.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2025 The department is committed to learning lessons on the programme and has worked closely with HM Treasury and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to identify key lessons from the programme and how those can be applied. Over the course of the HS2 programme reset and transformation of HS2 Ltd, the department aims to implement these lessons. The department will also take into account the findings of the Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance Review, led by James Stewart, many of which will be implemented as part of the programme reset. Lessons from HS2 are also being shared with the Inter-Ministerial Group for Infrastructure, NISTA and the Office for Value for Money so that they can be taken into account across Government. The department will write to the Committee outlining the key areas of lessons and will provide further updates in the next Parliamentary report.