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
91match
#50 - Clear project scope definition essential to prevent cost escalation in infrastructure plans
The Department reflected that a key lesson from the experience of HS2, and which needs to inform all the Department’s future infrastructure plans, is that the Department needs to be very clear when it sets out on a large project what it is there to achieve. Changing the scope significantly when a project is already underway has a...
Matched on
terms: project, scope
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
81match
#2 - Outline realistic plans for delivering 14,000 prison places, managing risks and gaining permission.
MoJ’s and HMPPS’s plans to deliver the remaining 14,000 places by 2031 are still fraught with risk and uncertainty. MoJ and HMPPS acknowledge that they have not delivered prison places on time. We accept that they faced several challenges expanding the estate, such as dealing with environmental regulations and site–specific difficulties, but many of these were predictable and...
Matched on
terms: major, 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
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
66match
#31 - Expanded Euston programme scope includes commercial development, housing, and station redevelopments.
In the October 2023 announcement, the government at the time set out that the HS2 station itself would be planned to be smaller, reflecting the lower number of train services expected to operate following the cancellation of Phase 2. However, the scope of the Euston programme would now be larger, incorporating more commercial development and new housing beyond...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
66match
#12 - MHCLG's remediation plan lacks sufficient scope and fails to address critical issues.
End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) told us it was not confident that MHCLG’s Plan would deliver for residents. It explained that too many barriers and issues remained, that MHCLG’s 2029 target was still five long years away and that it would only mean remediation was complete for some buildings–high rise buildings within the government’s grant programmes. EOCS said...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
66match
#25 - Uncertainty surrounds government plans for smaller biomass generators to convert to BECCS after 2027.
While much of the debate around biomass has focused on Drax, we received several written submissions outlining the important role played by smaller biomass generators in the UK. There are at present 54 regional biomass power stations that are primarily fuelled by waste wood from household waste recycling plants. These provide enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes.71...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Committee recommendation
66match
#27 - Department declined to publish 2024 Equipment Plan due to ongoing spending plan uncertainty.
In November 2024, the Minister for Defence Procurement & Industry wrote to the Chair to say that the Department would not publish a Plan for 2024 because “it would not provide an accurate reflection of this Government’s spending plans and I do not believe it would provide a useful means for Parliament to hold the Department to account...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Committee recommendation
66match
#26 - Department unable to detail Industrial Strategy's future funding and scope currently.
We asked the Department what the forthcoming Industrial Strategy will mean for the scale and composition of its support for industry going forward. The Department told us it was preparing for an upcoming spending review and therefore could not provide more insights now, but that it was using the process as an opportunity to consider its options. The...
Matched on
terms: scope
Committee recommendation
66match
#10 - Ongoing uncertainty in Horizon schemes over claimant numbers and complex claim values.
The Department told us that it is confident the level of uncertainty over the number of potential claimants in HSS will reduce over the 2025–26 financial year. The uncertainty over the number of potential claimants within the HSS was a key reason for the C&AG’s qualification of the Annual Report and Accounts 2023–24. For HCRS, the uncertainty over...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Committee recommendation
65match
#2 - DHSC and NHSE show lack of readiness for radical, long-term NHS financial transformation.
Despite having last published a plan in January 2019, and the major disruption caused by Covid to the NHS since, DHSC and NHSE are yet to recognise the scale of transformation needed to make the NHS financially sustainable. The Government’s desire to publish a new 10- year plan is a golden opportunity to take significant decisions for the...
Matched on
terms: major
Committee recommendation
65match
#6 - Update Parliament on HS2 Euston progress, funding, risk management, and costs
The Department’s plans for Euston carry huge risks given the uncertainties about its scope, cost, funding, schedule and delivery model. In the 2024 Autumn budget, the government confirmed that HS2 would terminate at London Euston rather than Old Oak Common in West London, but the scope of the work needed at Euston is unclear. The task at Euston...
Matched on
terms: scope
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
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
#7 - Ministry of Justice's new prison delivery plans were over-ambitious and unrealistic
In 2021, MoJ had planned to deliver three of its new prisons by 2026, despite having no planning permission in place.18 It also told us it factored in just 26 weeks to gain approvals, even though sites were not earmarked in local plans.19 We challenged MoJ on whether it felt its plans were over–ambitious and if it should...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
61match
#6 - Set out detailed timetable of local government finance reforms, implementation plans, and transitional arrangements.
There is significant uncertainty around how the proposed local government finance reforms and reorganisation will be implemented. Long standing plans for funding and service reforms have been delayed several times. The government has now announced a huge reform agenda for local government, including an overhaul of local audit, local finance reform, service reform including for SEND and children’s...
Matched on
terms: uncertainty
Inquiry recommendation
60match
ETI-18 - Effective Communication and Reporting
There should be effective communication and reporting at all stages of the project, including accurate progress reports to councillors and stakeholders, with clear escalation procedures for issues that may affect cost, programme or scope.
Matched on
terms: project, scope
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
Committee recommendation
57match
#21 - T Levels' anticipated benefits remain uncertain due to their early stage.
The Department has identified four potential benefits associated with T Levels – progression to further study or skilled employment; students’ readiness for their chosen career; higher earnings than those studying other level 3 qualifications; and employers’ confidence in T Level graduates.65 The Department described that, as it would take time for T Levels to become established, this would...
Matched on
classifier match
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
Committee recommendation
53match
#4 - Provide Committee with updates on Strategic Defence Review implementation progress by end of 2025.
The Strategic Defence Review (the SDR) has set out the government’s high-level policy and capability ambitions, but the Department will need to complete further work to prioritise what it must do to achieve them. The government launched the SDR in July 2024 and 5 published it on 2 June 2025, five weeks after our evidence session with the...
Matched on
classifier match
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.
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
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 - Significant risks and unproven technology hinder successful CCUS implementation at commercial scale
Significant risks to the successful implementation of CCUS technology remain. There are still no CCUS plants operating at a commercial scale in the UK and the technology is unproven at the scale being planned.20 For example, written evidence we received stated that there are currently only two power stations worldwide using post–combustion carbon capture. Neither of these plants...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#40 - Full disposal of HS2 surplus land dependent on future rail strategy decisions
However, the Department told us that overall decisions need to be made on future rail investment first. It explained that the government’s long– term strategy being developed for strategic rail investment, including on improvements to rail connectivity in the north of England, may affect what land is bought or sold or safeguarded. It expects the timetable for decisions...
Matched on
classifier match
Committee recommendation
49match
#8 - Confusion surrounds delivery timeline and methods for Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme
Clear and strategic spatial planning direction from the Government is necessary to guide decision-making, minimise conflicts, and ensure that marine space is allocated in a way that supports both environmental recovery and sustainable economic development. The Government’s proposed Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme has the potential to deliver this. However, the Committee is concerned that there is confusion or...
Matched on
classifier match
NAO recommendation
48match
Increasing the capacity of the prison estate to meet demand
MoJ should combine thinking on policy objectives for the prison estate and improved evidence of different approaches to develop a long-term strategy to improve the resilience of the estate. It should: clarify which current expansion projects will be completed and the total cost required;
Matched on
terms: project
Inquiry recommendation
48match
HIDD-49 - Develop system for allocating project priority to prevent safety compromise
BR shall develop an adequate system of allocating priority to projects to ensure that safety standards are not compromised by delay.
Matched on
terms: project
Inquiry recommendation
48match
HIDD-31 - Require external work to be contractual, specified by Project Manager
BR shall ensure that where work is required from areas outside the command of the person in overall charge, that work should be carried out on a contractual basis to a specification provided by the Project Manager.
Matched on
terms: project
Inquiry recommendation
48match
HIDD-30 - Ensure Project Managers have sufficient authority for safe scheme delivery
BR shall ensure that the Project Manager is of sufficient seniority and has sufficient authority to ensure that the scheme is delivered safely, efficiently and economically.
Matched on
terms: project
Inquiry recommendation
48match
SHI-3 - Clarity in brief for healthcare facility construction
It is critical that a health board formulates and then presents its requirements for the key building systems in a proposed healthcare facility (its "brief") in terms which are full, clear, and unambiguous, and that that brief is finalised before a contract is signed and Financial Close is achieved. While development of the design can be carried over...
Matched on
terms: project