The Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme
This study examines whether the government and Network Rail are in a position to deliver the Transpennine Route Upgrade successfully.
20 Jul 2022
Major public projects in the Government's current major projects portfolio are expected to cost over £450bn. There are also many other projects across government. This huge investment of taxpayers' money needs to be spent well. Managing these projects also brings major challenges because they are so long, complex, technically difficult, and are often part of high profile and high-risk transformation of public services.
These projects can also compete with each other for resources, equipment and skills. This means government needs to make sure that the timing of different projects is coordinated - especially as competition for resources can increase costs. One project can depend on the outcomes of another, making coordination and management still harder.
To make sure that these projects are affordable and successful, government needs much stronger project management skills and it needs to make more accurate cost and time estimates. It also needs to improve its ability to identify and manage both risks and the impact of external events.
Key NAO publications:
This study examines whether the government and Network Rail are in a position to deliver the Transpennine Route Upgrade successfully.
This report examines whether DCMS and Sport England have achieved value for money for spending on sport and physical activity.
This investigation sets out how DLUHC is managing the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre programme.
This report looks at the set-up of the UK infrastructure Bank, including HM Treasury’s planning before launch.
This report examines government’s progress in tackling local breaches of NO2 limits and its performance on air quality more broadly.
This report examines whether Defra is well placed to redevelop the UK’s primary site for managing threats from animal diseases.
This report sets out the NAO’s assessment of the delivery of the electronic monitoring (‘tagging’) transformation programme.
This report considers the effectiveness of the UK government’s cross-border travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report examines whether the Home Office is well placed to deliver value for money from the Police Uplift Programme.
This report is a detailed review of government contracts let to Randox between January 2020 and December 2021.