Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Not Addressed
Outline plans for embedding cross-government learning in future major projects.
Recommendation
Government departments do not routinely learn lessons from their own projects or those of other departments, so are missing opportunities to improve effectiveness and efficiency of future projects. Applying learning about what has been successful in major project delivery can bring great efficiency and reduced costs, particularly where standardisation of design is possible. Schools, hospitals and prison building programmes are starting to apply digital methods of design and off-site fabrication and to apply the approach of ‘design one, build many’. Of course, the success of this approach would require the supply chain to have enough of the required skills and capacity. There are government forums for the sharing of lessons about what works well in project delivery, such as the IPA-chaired Government Construction Board. However, learning across government departments still does not occur systematically, and departments must think more broadly about lessons in maximising long-term value, rather than just about lessons in delivering similar projects. The IPA acknowledged it could do more to challenge departments to learn from one project to another. Our February 2024 report on cross-government working also highlighted a lack of routine data sharing between departments and poor arrangements for sharing best practice and learning. Recommendation 6: Alongside their response to this report, the Infrastructure Projects Authority and HM Treasury should write to the Committee outlining their plans for embedding cross-government learning for future major projects. 8 Delivering value from government investment in major projects 1 Identifying, delivering and evaluating value from major projects
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation to outline plans for embedding cross-government learning. However, its response outlines reviews of commercial and digital functional standards, development of a standard taxonomy, and reviews of controls and assurance frameworks, which are not direct plans for cross-government learning.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The government has committed to regularly reviewing progress against the Industrial Strategy. As above, implementation is a government-wide effort, underpinned by shared objectives and metrics. This will be supported by the ISAC through its expertise on monitoring and evaluation and continued advice on policy development and delivery, helping ensure the Industrial Strategy remains fit for purpose. In addition, all fiscal events will set out the government’s continued support for the Industrial Strategy and the IS-8 growth-driving sectors. The department has opted for a public approach to monitoring and evaluation, supported by the ISAC (set out above). This is underpinned by an impact pathway, as outlined in the technical annex published alongside the Industrial Strategy, which sets out the underlying logic tracking individual policies to real world outcomes to achieve the Industrial Strategy’s goal of long-term, sustainable, regionally balanced, and resilient growth. Government departments and public bodies will carry out monitoring and evaluation for their individual policies and Sector Plans.