Recommendation 19

We asked the Department about the challenges presented by not having agreement with HM Treasury from the outset of the programme about some of these aspects. The Department told us that the white paper had the collective agreement of ministers and set the broad direction and detail for some areas of reform but, in other areas, it did not set out all the detail and differing views became apparent over important, technical issues. The Department held the view that it is not exceptional for such ongoing debate to happen in complex policy areas that have a significant financial impact on government finances. It said that an Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) review around 2022 had highlighted that it needed greater alignment with HM Treasury over its plans if it was to make progress.42 The Department told us that there are still outstanding issues for discussion with HM Treasury around GBR’s responsibilities and level of independence, and the future commercial model and the extent to which the private sector takes more of the revenue risk.43