Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 9 Jun 2022 Closed: 24 Feb 2023 Parliament page
The UK faces a significant threat from animal diseases, such as Bovine Tuberculosis - which is the subject of controversy over the badger culling that has traditionally been used to control it - and ‘zoonotic’ diseases which can transmit from animals to humans – as is believed to have been … Read more
15 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
24 Feb
2023
Report published
16 Nov
2022
Report published
13 Jul
2022
Oral evidence
13 Jul
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Jul 2022
View on parliament.uk
Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health infrastructure
Colin Dingwall · Animal and Plant Health Agency David Holdsworth · Animal and Plant Health Agency Professor Christine Middlemiss · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Sarah Homer · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopment of Defra’s animal health in… HC 42 16 Nov 2022 36 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department has allowed the Weybridge site to deteriorate to a completely unacceptable degree, through...
The Department has allowed the Weybridge site to deteriorate to a completely unacceptable degree, through a combination of inadequate management and under investment. The Department has not managed the Weybridge site as an important national asset. It has not had … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and stated that Asset Management lessons learnt have been included in the procurement for the new Workplace and Facilities Management contract, and that the Weybridge site will have a dedicated Technical Services team with an increase of around 50% in technical management.
HM Treasury
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3 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Weybridge site is continually vulnerable to a major breakdown which would severely impact the...
The Weybridge site is continually vulnerable to a major breakdown which would severely impact the APHA’s operations including responding to disease outbreaks. The Department and the APHA rate the risk of a major breakdown of facilities at the Weybridge site … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and will stress test their contingency plans and are regularly reviewing plans and running critical incident exercises, and is also in conversation with other cross government laboratories and partners.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
It is not yet certain that there will be sufficient investment in developing Weybridge’s capacity...
It is not yet certain that there will be sufficient investment in developing Weybridge’s capacity to ensure the UK’s long-term resilience to animal diseases. It is vital that the UK has the right science facilities to ensure its long-term resilience … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and will work with HM Treasury to establish a more certain funding position, refine its understanding of costs and benefits, and update the Committee via Treasury Minutes; £198 million has been allocated for preparatory work.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
There remains substantial uncertainty over the costs of the Weybridge redevelopment programme.
There remains substantial uncertainty over the costs of the Weybridge redevelopment programme. In developing its Programme Business Case the Department did more detailed work to understand the costs of the Programme. This increased its cost estimate from £1.2 billion in … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and will continue to develop its cost estimate, introduce cost ranges, and reflect uncertainty in those costings for the main investment decision in 2024.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The redevelopment of Weybridge is a large construction programme with a range of commercial risks...
The redevelopment of Weybridge is a large construction programme with a range of commercial risks that will need careful management. The Weybridge redevelopment programme will have a range of contracts covering professional services and construction. The Department recognises the challenges … Read more
Government Response
The government agreed and stated that Commercial Strategy Phase II has been endorsed by the SCAH Programme Board and that by May 2023, the programme will have options around Science Hub form of contract and competition.
HM Treasury
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25 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department stated that its Programme Business Case had set out a number of options...
The Department stated that its Programme Business Case had set out a number of options about the size and number of laboratories and the level of containment. Both the Department and the APHA said that they saw ACDP level four … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to work with HM Treasury to establish a more certain funding position for the Weybridge redevelopment program and will refine its understanding of the costs and benefits, required by Summer 2024, and allocated £198 million for preparatory work, with a target implementation date of Summer 2024.
HM Treasury
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28 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department acknowledged that there remains substantial uncertainty over its cost estimate.
The Department acknowledged that there remains substantial uncertainty over its cost estimate. In particular, there are a lot of risks in undertaking this redevelopment programme on an operational site and more work is needed to understand these risks and the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue developing its cost estimate for the Weybridge redevelopment programme, clarifying uncertainties and using cost ranges, with a target implementation date of Summer 2024.
HM Treasury
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29 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department said that its Programme Business Case had built in substantial allowance for inflation,...
The Department said that its Programme Business Case had built in substantial allowance for inflation, approximately £360 million over the lifetime of the redevelopment programme. It stated that for the current phase of the programme up to 2024 it was … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue developing its cost estimate for the Weybridge redevelopment programme, including the use of cost ranges to illustrate the level of uncertainty. Target implementation date is Summer 2024.
HM Treasury
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30 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department accepted that it had used single point estimates for its Programme Business Case...
The Department accepted that it had used single point estimates for its Programme Business Case cost estimate rather than ranges. The National Audit Office highlighted that the IPA considers the use of ranges as best practice. The Department confirmed that … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to continue developing its cost estimate for the Weybridge redevelopment programme, clarifying uncertainties and using cost ranges, with a target implementation date of Summer 2024.
HM Treasury
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32 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department stated that the Weybridge redevelopment programme is very high on its risk register...
The Department stated that the Weybridge redevelopment programme is very high on its risk register and is part of its major programmes portfolio. As a result, it sees the programme as a priority area for staffing.59 The National Audit Office … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to ensure that it has the right staff capability and capacity to deliver the Weybridge redevelopment programme, including a review of capacity and capability requirements for the full lifecycle of the programme. Target implementation date: June 2023
HM Treasury
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33 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
We asked the Department about progress it has made on the Government’s request to draw...
We asked the Department about progress it has made on the Government’s request to draw up plans to reduce staff numbers and how the Weybridge redevelopment programme would be accommodated within these plans. The Department stated that it is in … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to ensure the Weybridge redevelopment programme has sufficient staff capability and capacity and will report back on its plans after finalising wider staff reduction plans, with a target implementation date of June 2023. The programme continues to recruit and is reviewing capacity and capability requirements.
HM Treasury
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34 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The National Audit Office highlighted that the Weybridge redevelopment programme will have a range of...
The National Audit Office highlighted that the Weybridge redevelopment programme will have a range of contracts covering professional services and construction.62 The Department recognised the challenges of integrating a large number of suppliers and it told us that it has … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to report back on progress in developing its commercial strategy for the Weybridge redevelopment, including contract structure and competition, with a target implementation date of June 2023. Commercial Strategy Phase II has been endorsed and Phase III is in development.
HM Treasury
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35 Recommendation Accepted
Twenty-Fourth Report - Redevelopme…
The Department also recognised that it needs to build up its commercial capability to enable...
The Department also recognised that it needs to build up its commercial capability to enable it to act as an intelligent client and to manage the range of suppliers effectively. It stated that it had been too optimistic in its … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to report back on progress in developing its commercial strategy for the Weybridge redevelopment, including contract structure and competition, with a target implementation date of June 2023. Commercial Strategy Phase II has been endorsed and Phase III is in development.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 15 classified
Accepted 13
Acknowledged 4
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 1
Total 15 recs + 21 conclusions