UK Inquiry Tracker

Governance and decision-making on major projects

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 15 Jan 2025 Closed: 15 Dec 2025 Parliament page

The head of the National Audit Office (NAO), Comptroller and Auditor General, Gareth Davies, argued in 2024 that improving productivity in government could release tens of billions of pounds worth of public money for other priorities. He pointed to past NAO work on High Speed 2 (HS2) and the New … Read more The head of the National Audit Office (NAO), Comptroller and Auditor General, Gareth Davies, argued in 2024 that improving productivity in government could release tens of billions of pounds worth of public money for other priorities. He pointed to past NAO work on High Speed 2 (HS2) and the New Hospital Programme as suggestive of a governance problem in Whitehall – two examples of “mega projects which are arguably too large for the risks to be manageable by the relevant departments and their arms-length bodies.” The PAC has long scrutinised the governance of major projects. Its 2024 report on delivering value from government investment in major infrastructure warned that the UK Government and wider economy lacked the necessary skills and capacity to deliver ambitious plans over the ensuing five years. It also predicted that skills shortages in technical and engineering disciplines were set to worsen, with gaps in the UK’s workforce compounded by competition from major global development projects. The NAO’s 2025 report explored why governance arrangements that look suitable on paper do not always work as intended in practice, with lessons and insights drawn on successfully delivery and value for money. Based on the NAO report, the PAC will hear from senior Treasury officials on topics including governance and decision-making structures on Government projects and information that has fed into key decisions on projects. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Thursday 10 June 2025. Show less

21 Recommendations

9 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Letter

1 Event

Activity timeline 5 events

19 Jan
2026

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-Fourth report from Session 2024-26

10 Sep
2025

Report published

44th Report - Governance and decision-making on major projects

14 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the HM Treasury relating to the oral evidence session held on 26 June 2025 on Governance and decisio…

26 Jun
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

26 Jun
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

26 Jun 2025

View on parliament.uk

David Goldstone · HM Treasury David Lunn · Department of Business and Trade James Bowler CB · HM Treasury Jon Loveday · NISTA Nick Donlevy · HM Treasury

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
44th Report - Governance and decision-making on major projects	HC 642	10 Sep 2025	30	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results

7 Conclusion Deferred

44th Report - Governance and decis…

Mega-projects receive overall funding approval, with annual budgets subject to departmental reprofiling.

We asked the Treasury about when major and mega projects are given the approval to proceed and who makes these announcements. The role the Treasury plays in decisions about whether and how to proceed with a mega- project, its purpose … Read more

Government Response

The government refers to the OVFM study published in June 2025, setting out a new bespoke approach to funding and governance for mega projects, and states the Treasury will provide an update on its effectiveness.

HM Treasury

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8 Conclusion Deferred

44th Report - Governance and decis…

Treasury proposes extended feasibility and staged approvals for mega-projects to enhance delivery reliability.

The Treasury told us that, following from the OVFM’s report, for mega- projects it proposes to fund a feasibility stage which will be necessarily long enough to clarify objectives and go through the various business case processes, before setting out … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

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10 Conclusion Deferred

44th Report - Governance and decis…

Feasibility stage aims to prevent early announcements and clarify mega-project governance frameworks.

We asked how government will prevent projects being announced too early, noting that politicians are a factor. The OVFM told us that this feasibility stage will try to address this by setting out how governance is going to work, with … Read more

Government Response

The Treasury will write to the Committee with an update on the effectiveness of the new bespoke approach to funding and governance as set out in the Office for Value for Money (OVFM) study.

HM Treasury

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11 Conclusion Deferred

44th Report - Governance and decis…

Treasury assumes greater supervisory role for mega-projects with NISTA panel advising approval.

We asked the Treasury to outline what its new supervisory role is going to be for mega-projects. The Treasury explained that it will have a greater role in the governance of mega-projects by requesting a seat at the board and, … Read more

Government Response

The Treasury will write to the Committee with an update on the effectiveness of the new bespoke approach to funding and governance as set out in the Office for Value for Money (OVFM) study.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 30 of 21 classified

Accepted 26

Deferred 4

Total 21 recs + 9 conclusions

Correspondence 1 letter

14 Jul 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the HM Treasury relating to the oral evidence session held on 26 June 2025 on Governance and decision-making on major projects, 09 July 2025

Parliament page