Major Project Scope Uncertainty
Uncertainty regarding the scope of major public projects, with political decision-making identified as a significant risk to progress.
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
99match
#1 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
The Government has committed to the largest investment in infrastructure in decades, which it believes has the potential to support a fairer and more equitable national economy. However, there is also great potential to waste this money on “white elephant” projects if it is not invested wisely. Evidence the Committee gathered suggests that there is uncertainty as to...
Matched on
terms: major, project, uncertainty
Committee recommendation
91match
#7 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
It is clear from the evidence submitted to this inquiry that Government infrastructure projects are progressed before due consideration is given to how they will address local needs. This practice increases the risk of infrastructure not addressing local needs, and therefore not supporting economic growth.
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
91match
#4 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
The Government must be clear on what it means by “levelling up” if it is to plan projects which lead to “levelling up” and measure progress against them. The Committee expects that the infrastructure strategy will be clear on what levelling up means in practice, how infrastructure investment will contribute to levelling up, and what data we can...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
91match
#2 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
The overall framework for this investment should be provided by the National Infrastructure Strategy, but this is significantly delayed and has yet to be published. The Government is keen to spend money quickly as part of the Coronavirus “bounce back” but it needs to publish the overall infrastructure strategy to ensure that money is spent in a co-ordinated...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#21 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
Project data should be reported in ranges, which reflect quantified risks to costs and timescales. The IPA should start reporting ranges for any newly-approved projects immediately, and HM Treasury should state an expectation that projects going through Treasury Approval Processes (TAP) present ranges as a default.. (Paragraph 92) Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects 35
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#11 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
If the Government wants to invest in areas of slower economic growth, including the North, regions and rural areas, it needs to be clear on the objectives of that investment, and set a framework for departments to appraise that investment so that it can pass the TAP hurdles. That might mean accepting lower overall returns for wider benefits,...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#9 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
The Government must also reconsider what infrastructure will be needed in coming years, reflecting on the experience of Coronavirus. For example, if more jobs will move to home working, whether this might create a greater need for faster broadband rather than new roads. This post-Covid view of infrastructure should be reported to this Committee for further scrutiny.
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#8 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
Government should prioritise understanding local needs. Fully populated local needs assessments should be published when projects are announced to demonstrate the purpose of such projects. The IPA should require these assessments as part of the documentation for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) and it should also check that departments are publishing the assessments as part...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#3 - Third Report - Delivering the Government’s infrastructure commitments through major projects
The Government should publish its infrastructure strategy as soon as possible, and certainly before it starts spending large amounts of money on infrastructure. The plan must clearly link the Government’s objectives for the economy and the planed infrastructure investment. It should either include an assessment of regional or local needs, or clear principles for Departments assessing need in...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
73match
#20 - 10th Report - Government shared services
HM Treasury confirmed to us that while the department is supportive of the strategy, it has not yet signed up to the Matrix system.51 HM Treasury considers that its Permanent Secretary has the right to decide whether to go ahead with joining the cluster’s system or not subject to further information on benefits and service level, which the...
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
73match
#26 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
We highlighted this gap to the Department. It told us it was looking at a range of measures to boost capacity without new infrastructure, but did not provide further detail on the measures. It also explained there was significant uncertainty when projecting rail demand so far into the future and set out why it believed the phase 2...
Matched on
terms: project, uncertainty
Committee recommendation
73match
#25 - Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding
The demand for resources to inspect and remediate buildings with safety concerns is already high and set to increase with the new £1 billion Building Safety Fund. The Department estimates there to be around 1,700 buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding within scope of the Building Safety Fund; this is in addition to the 455 buildings with unsafe Grenfell-style...
Matched on
terms: project, scope
Inquiry recommendation
69match
HIDD-29 - Appoint a single Project Manager for all major schemes
BR shall ensure that there is a single Project Manager for all major schemes, who shall be responsible for the overall planning, management and execution of the scheme.
Matched on
terms: major, project
Committee recommendation
69match
#2 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
There is a clear risk that the Department will not be able to manage the programme within its £45 billion funding cap. HM Treasury has set a £45 billion funding cap for the programme. This may help affordability, but we are unclear how HM Treasury determined the cap before the entire 3 project is designed, scoped and costed....
Matched on
terms: project, scope
NAO recommendation
68match
The Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme
The Department and Network Rail should review their business case approvals strategy and how this will manage the uncertainty in design and cost from projects still at an early stage. The strategy should include setting out what the focus of future update approvals will be to reduce the risk of scope changes being introduced back into the Programme.
Matched on
terms: project, scope, uncertainty
Committee recommendation
65match
#18 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Department told us it was discussing with HM Treasury whether Northern Powerhouse Rail would be designated a mega-project. It said its key concern was how to get the benefits of the mega-project governance reforms as well as the benefits of organising the programme as phased projects. The Department told us it would ensure clear decision-making and partnership...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
65match
#3 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Department has not yet put in place appropriate governance arrangements with other central government departments. Northern Powerhouse Rail requires input from and coordination with other central government departments like HM Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to ensure it enables the wider economic benefits intended for the North, such as urban regeneration...
Matched on
terms: project
NAO recommendation
64match
The UK border: Implementing an effective trade border
By the end of 2024 the Cabinet Office and HMRC should refresh the delivery roadmap for the Single Trade Window (STW) programme to ensure its scope, timetable and project management arrangements are appropriate. This should consider the challenges identified in our assessment of the STW programme.
Matched on
terms: project, scope
Inquiry recommendation
64match
ETI-9 - Risk Management Standards
The identification and management of risk should be an integral part of the governance of all major public-sector contracts in future. In identifying and managing risk the following principles should be adopted: • Probabilistic forecasts rather than single-point forecasts should be used to take account of the risk appetite of funders and project sponsors. • Funders, sponsors and...
Matched on
terms: major, project
IMB recommendation
64match
Ford (2022)
Whilst accepting that the country is facing significant economic headwinds, it is nonetheless disappointing to report on the level of uncertainty in committing the funding for both day to day activities and most particularly capital projects. The reversal of the progress on the plan to replace B wing and the health centre, with completion now pushed out to...
Matched on
terms: project, uncertainty
Committee recommendation
61match
#19 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We questioned the Department on how it is selecting and prioritising projects for the NHDF. The Department explained that funding decisions for individual projects are based on a range of criteria including deliverability, affordability, and strategic fit with government policy and the local area’s priorities.44 It added that it is oversubscribed with projects coming forward and so it...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
61match
#27 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Department was clear on the need for Northern Powerhouse Rail to integrate with local transport, stating that “maximising the benefits of major rail investment requires coherent local planning that joins up rail, regeneration and local transport [and] that is absolutely what we have been trying to do.”58 MHCLG also emphasized how it was seeking to align local...
Matched on
terms: major
Committee recommendation
61match
#10 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
We asked the Department how it would ensure within-budget delivery for Northern Powerhouse Rail phases 1 and 2 so that there is funding left for the cross-Pennine improvements in phase 3. The Department replied that its approach was to not specify outputs but instead work with local leaders 10 HMG, Northern Growth Strategy: Case for Change, CP 1549,...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
61match
#8 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
HM Treasury has set a funding cap of £45 billion (2025 prices) on programme spend from 2026–27.12 The funding cap amount was based on factors including early estimated cost ranges based on potential scope options and assessment of long-term affordability, and will be adjusted for inflation over time.13 The Department explained that it is a cap on the...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
61match
#4 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Department’s arrangements for working with local government do not appear sufficient to manage the trade-offs it will need to make on funding and scope. The Department has agreements in place with individual local areas and is working with local leaders in sub-regional groups to develop plans, build consensus and provide transparency on trade-offs and decisions. These groups...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
57match
#21 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We pressed the Department on how it expects to ensure an overall balanced and effective portfolio of projects which maximises the impact of the funding. It acknowledged that the final distribution of funding will depend on what projects come forward.52 It added that the NHDF has been designed to be flexible, and it does not want to constrain...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#18 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
The Department has taken various approaches, driven by shifting policy priorities, to where it invests unlocking land funds. However, frequent change reduces confidence in the sector and risks wasting applicants’ efforts in developing plans that are unlikely to be supported.42 To support the delivery of the NHDF and National Housing Bank, Homes England is developing an overarching agency-wide...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
57match
#9 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We challenged the Department on when it would be able to set out its expectation of how many homes will be built on land unlocked by the NHDF. The Department told us that it is too early to provide a meaningful estimate because the NHDF does not yet have a pipeline of projects.19 The Department said a specific...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#7 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
The Department told us it is finalising the business case for the NHDF now.13 We asked it how much of the NHDF will be available for unlocking land investments. It told us that it has deliberately set the NHDF to be flexible so it can support a range of interventions that will lead to new homes. As such...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#4 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We remain unconvinced that the Department and Homes England have a strategic approach to allocating the NHDF to ensure a balanced portfolio of projects in a range of locations which support the objectives of the NHDF. The Department launched the NHDF without a pipeline of projects suggesting its approach to creating a portfolio of projects is reactive and...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#25 - 10th Report - Government shared services
The Cabinet Office recognised that managing interdependencies remains complex. Despite the Cabinet Office offering assurances on its current governance arrangements, the Committee remains sceptical about their effectiveness. The Cabinet Office told us that as departments join shared services clusters, the robustness of its current two-tier set- up would be subject to new challenge. The department said that it...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#17 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
However, the NAO also set out that the government views Northern Powerhouse Rail as a programme of different projects rather than one single mega-project.36 In oral evidence, the Department told us Northern Powerhouse Rail was “in effect [ … ] a mega-programme”.37 In written evidence, Transport for the North described the programme as a series of discrete investments,...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#16 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
In 2025, the Office of Value for Money set out its definition for mega- projects—the government’s largest and most complex projects—and the government announced changes to how it manages mega-projects to help remove obstacles to delivery.34 The NAO found that Northern Powerhouse Rail has five of the six mega-project characteristics. These include: • having cross-cutting impacts that span...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#10 - 5th Report - MoD follow-up Spring 2026
The DNE is a large, complicated portfolio, to which new programmes are added and others are growing. The Department said that it was re- establishing its capability to produce nuclear fuel, and that there have been changes in the scope of the DNE portfolio, for example as a result of the AUKUS submarine programme, which involves the United...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
57match
#52 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
Uncertainty over the eventual cost of the digital ID scheme make it impossible to take an informed view on whether it will prove a worthwhile undertaking, even if the operational and security challenges examined in this report were to be resolved. The government was, however, right to say that the digital ID should be built in-house, from the...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Committee recommendation
57match
#21 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The government is right to highlight the potential for technology to support better public service delivery. But its estimate that the digitisation of public services could deliver an annual saving of £45 billion is worryingly optimistic. While assumptions are an unavoidable part of economic projections, hyperbole diminishes the case for change. (Conclusion, Paragraph 68)
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#9 - Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding
The Department intends for the £1 billion Building Safety Fund for non-ACM cladding to be committed in full by the end of the 2020–21 financial year. The National Audit Office has suggested that this timetable would pose potentially significant challenges for the Department to address.29 It would certainly require an acceleration in administration compared to the existing fund...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
57match
#23 - Seventeenth Report - Immigration enforcement
The Department told us that it has high hopes for its modernisation and transformation projects. However, the NAO reported that the Department agrees funding for its transformation projects on an annual basis, and their longer-term development is therefore uncertain.64 We heard that e-visas and the introduction of its Atlas programme would provide a better grip on an individual’s...
Matched on
terms: project
IMB recommendation
56match
Warren Hill (2025)
Furthermore, it would be helpful to have a definite picture of the future building works, including the proposed kitchen provisions so that more detailed planning can be undertaken. The current kitchen and rapid deployment cell (RDC) projects have been very 'stop - start'; could a detailed project plan and funded project plan be presented to the prison to...
Matched on
terms: project, uncertainty
Inquiry recommendation
53match
R5 - Hospital future uncertainty resolution
Scottish Government should ensure that where any uncertainty over the future of any hospital or service exists, resolution of the uncertainty is not delayed any longer than is essential for planning and consultation to take place.
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
NAO recommendation
52match
Progress with delivering the Emergency Services Network
continues developing a revised programme plan. This should include realistic time frames that are not driven by an arbitrary date for shutting down Airwave, but which allows sufficient time to complete and test that ESN?s technical architecture works. This should include time and cost estimates that allow for optimism bias and are presented in ranges to reflect uncertainty...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
NAO recommendation
52match
Progress report: Terminating the Magnox contract
f) through increased knowledge and experience, work to reduce uncertainty around the cost of future decommissioning work.
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Inquiry recommendation
52match
ETI-18 - Interviews of Key Personnel in Readiness Reviews
As part of their investigations, representatives of OGC undertaking an independent “readiness review” of a publicly funded project and representatives of any person, including representatives of any public body such as Audit Scotland, undertaking a review of the progress of and/or expenditure on a project funded in whole or in part by public funds should interview key personnel...
Matched on
terms: project
NAO recommendation
52match
High Speed Two: Euston
DfT should work with the Euston Partnership, HS2 Ltd, Network Rail, Lendlease and local partners to clarify a shared understanding and expectations for the Euston programme in light of the changes and the affordability challenge. This should include reviewing or revisiting: ? the risks and opportunities that the change provides and how these are managed; ? the budget...
Matched on
terms: project
IMB recommendation
51match
Eastwood Park (2025)
Numerous works projects were delayed, including bathroom refurbishments, replacement of Res 7, replacement carpeting on Res 5 and 6, replacement fire ring main and the new video conferencing centre. There appeared to be so much waste in planning these projects, only for them to either be delayed or cancelled at the last moment. How will the Minister ensure...
Matched on
terms: project, scope
Detention investigation recommendation
51match
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: major, project
PFD report
49match
David Carpenter
Widespread bin lorries contain significant design flaws, particularly in the automatic bin lift system, creating a foreseeable risk of workers being inadvertently lifted into the hopper and causing death, with slow and optional safety updates.
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#8 - 11th Report - Unlocking land for housing
We questioned the Department on what it wants the NHDF to deliver, including how many homes will be built on land unlocked by the fund. The Department told us that it has a broad range of objectives for the NHDF including increasing the housing supply, boosting economic growth, improving the quality of new homes and contributing to placemaking.15...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#14 - 3rd Report - Science diplomacy: Sovereignty, strategy, and the global race
While the own–collaborate–access framework provides a useful foundation for prioritising the UK’s approach to critical technologies, it is currently applied at too high a level to guide effective decision-making. Holding an ambition for an entire technology to be in the “own” category, as the government currently does in relation to quantum, may not be feasible. (Conclusion, Paragraph 63)
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#29 - 8th Report - Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Treasury’s Northern Growth Envoy emphasised that their approach with local areas was about more than just transport and stations, but “placemaking”.63 MHCLG also set out that it was trialling ‘place-based business cases’, which consider how a set of interventions come together in a given place. Liverpool is one of its pilot places, in which it told us...
Matched on
classifier match