Second Report - Major transport infrastructure projects

Select Committee
Transport Committee HC 24 29 September 2021
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 9 items (8 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 9 of 9 classified)
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 5
Deferred 1
Government response
Seventh Special Report - Major transport infrastructure projects: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report · published 24 Jan 2022
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker
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Recommendations & Conclusions

5 results
1 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Para 9
Subject to devolved responsibilities, the National Infrastructure Strategy’s top-level objectives of supporting the UK economy...
Conclusion
Subject to devolved responsibilities, the National Infrastructure Strategy’s top-level objectives of supporting the UK economy after coronavirus, addressing regional inequalities and facilitating adaptation to climate change are welcome. However, the Government is yet to articulate the detail on how it … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, stating they will not publish a single delivery plan but will articulate details through existing publications like the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and forthcoming documents such as the Levelling Up White Paper, Integrated Rail Plan, Union Connectivity Review, and EV charging infrastructure strategy.
Department for Transport
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2 Recommendation Accepted in Part
The Government may need to amend the National Infrastructure Strategy to account for the evolution...
Recommendation
The Government may need to amend the National Infrastructure Strategy to account for the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic in the 10 months since the strategy’s publication. To assess whether and how the strategy requires revision, the Government must examine … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, stating there is not enough evidence to amend the National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS) at this stage. However, they commit to individual projects assessing and addressing changes, working with the NIC to understand long-term effects, and ensuring business cases consider various demand scenarios.
Department for Transport
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6 Recommendation Accepted in Part
To facilitate transparent, honest and constructive public and political engagement with the economic and engineering...
Recommendation
To facilitate transparent, honest and constructive public and political engagement with the economic and engineering realities of delivering major infrastructure projects, the Government should establish floors and ceilings for project costs and timescales defining the range within which projects are … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to use cost and schedule ranges for projects, stating this is already implemented for many ongoing projects. However, they reject establishing a formal trigger mechanism for parliamentary scrutiny, deeming it duplicative and complicating existing processes.
Department for Transport
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7 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Government agencies have repeatedly delivered major transport infrastructure projects that exceeded the specified cost and/or...
Recommendation
Government agencies have repeatedly delivered major transport infrastructure projects that exceeded the specified cost and/or delivery date. Senior management of those Government agencies were apparently unaccountable for such overruns. Senior management of Government agencies with ultimate responsibility for project delivery … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts, agreeing with the principle of incentivising senior management to avoid overruns and stating existing systems provide clear accountabilities and performance objectives. However, they reject implementing a formal duty for senior management to notify Select Committees of overruns, citing existing 6-monthly reporting for parliamentary scrutiny.
Department for Transport
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9 Recommendation Accepted in Part
To ensure that the National Infrastructure Strategy supports (a) the “levelling up” agenda, (b) achieving...
Recommendation
To ensure that the National Infrastructure Strategy supports (a) the “levelling up” agenda, (b) achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and (c) economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic, the Government must publish by 25 November 2021 a delivery plan setting … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, declining to publish a single delivery plan by the specified date. Instead, they will disseminate details through existing publications like the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and forthcoming documents such as the Levelling Up White Paper, Integrated Rail Plan, Union Connectivity Review, and an electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy.
Department for Transport
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