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:
It is almost five years since HM Treasury introduced the requirement for a department’s Accounting Officer to personally review its major projects and programmes against four criteria – regularity, propriety, feasibility and value for money – and to publish a summary. These are known as Accounting Officer assessments. This review will look at: how well … Read more
This report is a detailed review of government contracts let to Randox between January 2020 and December 2021.
This report assesses the problems that the Ajax programme has encountered and the challenges the MoD faces in delivering it.
A summary of the Department of the Ministry of Defence spending in 2020-21, focusing on key messages from the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and providing insights which can be used to improve financial scrutiny.
This report examines whether government’s arrangements for decommissioning AGR nuclear power stations will lead to better value for money.
This study will assess whether the Department for Transport and Network Rail’s arrangements are set up to successfully deliver the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
This framework provides a structured, flexible approach to reviewing models. It is intended to aid those commissioning or undertaking analysis of a model with the aim of determining whether the model is robust and reasonable.
This report provides a progress update on the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme.
This framework has a set of questions to assess whether a portfolio is achieving value for money
This report examines government’s progress in developing the provision and use of evaluation evidence across government.
