Incomplete Public Project Cost-Benefit Analysis
Omission of significant costs (e.g., customer costs) from cost-benefit analyses for major public projects.
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
81match
#14 - 1st Report - Naming and shaming: how not to regulate
Given that the enforcement investigation proposals represent a significant departure from the FCA ’s previous approach, it remains our firm view that proposed changes of this extent necessitate a robust and detailed analysis of the direct costs to the sector. Wider factors in the UK’s growth and competitiveness should form part of this analysis. The need for such...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost, public
Committee recommendation
81match
#10 - 10th Report - Government shared services
Since this Committee last reported on shared services, the Cabinet Office responded to concerns about its understanding of costs, benefits and value for money by updating its strategy’s case for change.20 The Cabinet Office has also created a dashboard designed to bring together cluster-held data on costs, benefits and delivery milestones.21 The Cabinet Office told us that 1,600...
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost, incomplete, public
Committee recommendation
77match
#15 - 1st Report - Naming and shaming: how not to regulate
In light of the questions raised over the absence of a cost benefit analysis for the enforcement investigation proposals, and following the recommendations made in the Financial Conduct Authority Cost Benefit Analysis Panel’s report, the FCA should change its policy of producing a cost benefit analysis only for rules and guidance on rules. (Paragraph 108) Next steps
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
77match
#13 - 1st Report - Naming and shaming: how not to regulate
The lack of a cost benefit analysis has contributed to industry concern that the full impact of the proposals on firms and markets was not being suitably considered. Although there is no obligation for the FCA to provide cost benefit analysis on these proposals, the significance of the changes warrants one. Assessment of these proposals cannot simply be...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
77match
#6 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
The regulators, particularly the FCA, do not have a clear understanding of the cumulative burden of regulation due to limitations in their approach to cost benefit analysis. This prevents them from recognising and addressing the negative impact that their activities have on the growth and international competitiveness of the sector. The design of regulation must be informed by...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
77match
#12 - 3rd Report - Youth employment, education and training
The Jobs Guarantee is a good offer, but its eligibility is too tight and will limit its impact. We are concerned about the long-term impact on a young person of being unemployed for 18 months and that waiting a year and a half before offering a work placement risks undermining the benefits of the scheme. DWP should undertake...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
77match
#11 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We asked the Department whether it has a clear understanding of the homes delivered resulting from its legacy investments to unlock land. The Department acknowledged the initial lack of tracking and told us it is now retrospectively tracking how many homes have been built on land unlocked by initially untracked legacy programmes.25 Homes England explained that it has...
Matched on
terms: analysi, project, public
Committee recommendation
77match
#12 - 10th Report - Government shared services
In its subsequent correspondence with the Committee, the Cabinet Office clarified that its Strategy’s £4.3 billion benefits figure had been calculated from a mixture of its dashboard and clusters’ full business cases. The Cabinet Office’s correspondence reported shared services’ change costs at £846 million in one section, and ‘around £1.6 billion’ in another section: as compared to a...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost, project
Committee recommendation
77match
#2 - 10th Report - Government shared services
We are astounded that the Cabinet Office appears unable to clearly articulate the value for money case of its Shared Services Strategy. The Cabinet Office claims that the Shared Services Strategy is now set to deliver £4.3 billion in benefits. But this figure does not reflect costs, and the department was initially unable to quantify what these costs...
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost, public
Committee recommendation
77match
#14 - 4th Report - UK-EU relations a decade on
We welcome the UK re-joining the Erasmus+ scheme. To support transparency, we recommend that the Government set out the underlying data to support the UK’s decision to rejoin, a full cost- benefit analysis of long-term membership of Erasmus+, and its view on continued UK association as part of the 2028–2034 budgetary cycle. (Recommendation, Paragraph 39)
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
77match
#33 - 6th Report - The Access to Work scheme
We asked the Department about cost-benefit analysis of the Access to Work scheme relative to other schemes including, if a robust case-controlled study was not possible, whether it had done any sort of modelling.63 We suggested, for example, that, if someone had been refused Access to Work support and was not able to work, the counter might be...
Matched on
terms: analysi, benefit, cost, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#2 - 2nd Report - The impact of environmental regulations on development
To balance policy decisions more effectively, the Government should commission a review into the cost implications of satisfying environmental regulations for both housebuilding and large infrastructure projects. (Paragraph 27) Balancing Competing Targets
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
65match
#44 - 2nd Report - Research and development tax relief, HMRC data requirements, promoters of tax avoidance and...
We recommend that HMRC publishes the assumptions on which the costs to businesses of the employee hours requirement were based. HMRC should then work with interested parties to review these costings and produce revised estimates that are more realistic and re-evaluate the extent to which the proposed benefits outweigh these costs.
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
65match
#143 - 1st Report - High Streets: Life beyond retail?
In reviewing business cases for the building, or opening, of new government services (such as health care centres, libraries and sport centres) the Government should ensure that wider public benefits are included in its assessment, including those supporting the ambitions held within other Government departments.
Matched on
terms: benefit, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#36 - 1st Report - High Streets: Life beyond retail?
In reviewing business cases for the building, or opening, of new government services (such as health care centres, libraries and sport centres) the Government should ensure that wider public benefits are included in its assessment, including those supporting the ambitions held within other Government departments.
Matched on
terms: benefit, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#2 - 1st Report - Methane: keep up the momentum
In considering the costs of taking action on methane emissions, the Government should consider both the costs and benefits of action and the concomitant costs and benefits of inaction over the short, medium and long-term, including adaptation costs.
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
65match
#12 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We asked how the number of homes delivered through legacy programmes were being tracked. Homes England told us it is using geospatial imaging to set boundaries around sites, and identify which homes can be attributed to unlocking interventions.27 The Department explained that attributing homes to financial investments is more challenging for some projects.28 It gave the example of...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#10 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
Delivery of new homes is one of the key long-term outcomes the Department expects from its financial support for unlocking land.21 However, it did not put in place arrangements to track the number of homes built on land unlocked by some of its legacy programmes.22 The legacy 13 Q59 14 Q10 15 Qq 23 and 30 16 Qq...
Matched on
terms: analysi, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#2 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
The Department and Homes England have not been fully transparent about their plans for tracking the number of homes built on land unlocked by legacy programmes. The Department and Homes England are retrospectively tracking how many homes were built on land unlocked by the various legacy programmes that they initially did not track. The Department reports that as...
Matched on
terms: analysi, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#21 - 10th Report - Government shared services
The Shared Services Strategy has historically had mixed buy-in from departments. In 2022, not all departments were fully supportive of the cluster model. Clusters considered that departmental buy-in suffered because the Cabinet Office did not calculate the benefits of its Shared Services Strategy across government.54 In 2023, the previous Public Accounts Committee also noted that departments were still...
Matched on
terms: benefit, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#34 - 6th Report - The Access to Work scheme
The Department told us that it was “quite unlikely” that the scheme paid for itself fiscally, but it did not know that for certain. It explained that, from an Accounting Officer’s point of view, the value of the scheme was over and above the fiscal and economic considerations – it was about the scheme’s benefits to society and...
Matched on
terms: benefit, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#31 - 6th Report - The Access to Work scheme
We asked the Department about the value for money of Access to Work, including how the cost compares with other government employment schemes and how it compares with other nations. The Department told us that, while it had not undertaken any quantitative assessment of the scheme’s effectiveness, it did have qualitative evidence.59 It said that the difficulty was...
Matched on
terms: cost, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#30 - 6th Report - The Access to Work scheme
One of the Department’s principles for awarding Access to Work grants is that any approved support must be value for money.57 However, the Department acknowledges that it does not know whether the scheme provides value for money – it has little evidence on the difference that the funding has made and does not check whether the support was...
Matched on
terms: benefit, public
NAO recommendation
59match
Progress with the merger of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID)
The Cabinet Office should ensure there is proper consideration of the costs and benefits of major MoG changes and provide longer-term support and guidance to departments facing significant organisational change. Once the decision has been taken to implement a MoG change, the Cabinet Office should: ? provide guidance on a consistent method of tracking costs, including some measure...
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost
Inquiry recommendation
59match
RHI-39 - Ministerial Familiarity with Legislation
Any Minister presenting the Assembly with legislation for approval should sufficiently read and familiarise themselves with that legislation and ensure an adequate evidence base is publicly available to demonstrate that the benefits justify any attendant costs.
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost, public
Committee recommendation
57match
#43 - 2nd Report - Research and development tax relief, HMRC data requirements, promoters of tax avoidance and...
From the evidence received, it seems very likely that the costs to employers of providing this data, both one-off and on-going, have been significantly underestimated.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
57match
#33 - 2nd Report - Research and development tax relief, HMRC data requirements, promoters of tax avoidance and...
Where the Government is proposing a major change to how businesses are taxed, we recommend that costs are modelled at an earlier stage in the consultation process to allow for stakeholder engagement, even where some details have not yet been finalised. (Paragraph 130) Subcontracting Arrangements
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
57match
#32 - 2nd Report - Research and development tax relief, HMRC data requirements, promoters of tax avoidance and...
The cost to taxpayers of implementing new tax rules is an important consideration when developing new policies. While not confirming whether the merged scheme would go ahead, the Government has been clear since January 2023 that, if it did, it would take effect from April 2024. Changing the way in which R&D relief is given is a major...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
57match
#43 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
Cumulatively, we were told these issues introduce significant frictions for firms, which in aggregate risk constraining growth across the sector. We heard that aspects of the UK’s regulatory regime that are more costly and complex than competing jurisdictions negatively impact on the perceived attractiveness and international competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre.
Matched on
terms: cost
NAO recommendation
56match
Specialist skills in the civil service
The Cabinet Office should work with all functions to develop and report consistent and well-evidenced data on functions’ performance, costs and benefits, building on assurance work done to date.
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost
NAO recommendation
56match
Digital transformation in the NHS
c) Collect more data to enable a better understanding of the full cost of delivering digital transformation and prioritise the work programme. Essential work to lay the foundations of digitisation and interoperability (including data standardisation) should be done before investment in newer technologies. There should be robust assessment of the whole-life costs and benefits of different approaches to...
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#77 - 2nd Report - Research and development tax relief, HMRC data requirements, promoters of tax avoidance and...
The Government needs to revisit its standard model for costing and ensure that HM Treasury and HMRC conduct a meaningful dialogue with stakeholders about what businesses need to do to prepare for any change, including being transparent about any assumptions made.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#35 - 1st Report - Long-duration energy storage: get on with it
The Government should investigate the costs and efficiencies of large ACAES, for example through researching comparable systems that have been operated in other countries, with a view to supporting them through the long-duration energy storage business model in 2024.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#66 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
A comprehensive review and revision of the secondary objective metrics is required. This should be commenced as soon as possible after the publication of the regulators’ second secondary objective progress reports , due by summer 2025. As part of this review, HM Treasury and the regulators should prioritise introducing more granularity to the metrics, ensuring there is enhanced...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#49 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
Firms that use the standardised approach generally have higher capital requirements than firms that use the IRB. Obtaining approval for internal models is a lengthy and costly process which favours larger firms.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#48 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
This is not entirely within the control of the PRA. The Government should work with the Bank of England to review the cumulative impact that the regulatory capital requirements and MREL requirements have on lenders, specifically regarding the cost of lending. This should be done with a view to balancing financial stability and enabling both banks and building...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#38 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
We welcome the FCA’s review of its handbook rules following the introduction of the Consumer Duty. However, we also recognise the cost and complexity created by layering new regulation onto similar existing requirements.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#9 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
Assessment of the costs and resource demands that regulatory reforms impose on firms should not be limited to the CBA carried out during the consultation period. We recommend that the FCA and the PRA include an assessment of actual costs imposed after the implementation of large-scale regulatory reforms as part of their post-implementation reviews.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#5 - 2nd Report - Growing pains: clarity and culture change required - An examination of the secondary...
We recommend that, building on its work to establish a baseline for the administrative costs of regulation, the Government commissions an independent study to assess the cumulative cost of compliance in the financial services sector relative to other international jurisdictions.
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#13 - 3rd Report - Protecting built heritage
We recommend that the government introduce a local high street assessment tool to tackle the challenge that a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective. This tool can be used to compare the cost and effectiveness of interventions, including planning, engagement, skills and ownership. The government should help local authorities select tailored regeneration packages. (Recommendation, Paragraph 35) Financial support for built...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#15 - 6th Report - The UK-US economic relationship: 250 years on
The Pharmaceutical Arrangement was a necessary response to an acute tariff threat to £4 billion of UK exports. However, the cost to the NHS is material, contested, and opaque. Whether increased NHS spending translates into increased UK R&D investment, remains the critical unresolved question. (Conclusion, Paragraph 80) 60
Matched on
terms: cost
Detention investigation recommendation
52match
Investigation into the Disturbance and Fire at Yarl's Wood Removal Centre - Rec 22
IND and the Finance and Services Directorate ensure that no major project is again allowed to proceed without a properly constituted business case.
Matched on
terms: project
NAO recommendation
51match
Managing government borrowing
c. HMT, working with the OBR, should explore how remit revisions outside regular fiscal events can be supported by quicker, more focused OBR assurance. This assurance should be proportionate, taking account of the event under assessment and the costs to public bodies in producing forecasts.
Matched on
terms: cost, public
NAO recommendation
51match
Supporting investment into the UK
DIT should assess how actual economic benefits resulting from inward investment projects compare with its forecasts at the outset. This would help it draw out the reasons why actual benefits may be higher or lower than initial estimates, improve future forecasting, and gain additional insights into the impact DIT is having on economic growth and wider policy objectives....
Matched on
terms: benefit, project
LGO / SPSO decision
51match
21-018-578 - Worthing Borough Council
Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s decision not to award Community Infrastructure Levy (“CIL”) funding for a project in his local park. He says the project would have provided important improvements to the park and benefited residents. The Ombudsman does not find fault in how the Council considered the application for CIL funding.
Matched on
terms: benefit, project
LGO / SPSO decision
51match
22-004-414 - Adur District Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s pursuit of a project which the complainant says was bound to fail. The financial cost to the Council is something which affects all residents and is therefore outside our jurisdiction. Also, we do not consider the complainant has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement. Finally,...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
PFD report
49match
Mark Welsh
The coroner raised concerns about Transport for London's significant delays in implementing pedestrian safety improvements at a busy crossroads and its accident statistics methodology, which did not account for overall incident incidence or near misses.
Matched on
classifier match
NAO recommendation
48match
Improving Single Living Accommodation
The Department should give priority to developing a more comprehensive overview of its SLA provision. This should include a more complete picture of what it costs to manage and sustain the estate, bed space availability and wider asset management data. Any systems introduced must be integrated or compatible with existing platforms and reduce any duplication of data collected....
Matched on
terms: cost
NAO recommendation
48match
Tackling the tax gap
b) in developing its new performance measures: i) develop measures for each significant factor affecting the tax gap, for example, costs to taxpayers and intermediaries of complying, taxpayer experience, perceptions of fairness and the deterrence effect of its activities;
Matched on
terms: cost
ICIBI recommendation
47match
An inspection of contingency asylum accommodation (November 2023 – June 2024)
Ensure that the 10-year strategy and annual delivery plans for asylum accommodation are informed by: a) clearly stated milestones for expected benefits, overall and broken down by type of accommodation (initial, dispersal, contingency) and by site b) a standardised methodology, for each type of accommodation being provided, including planning assumptions (e.g. occupancy rate, length of stay) to enable...
Matched on
terms: benefit, cost