Project Cost Escalation from Delays
Delays in infrastructure projects driven by short-term cost-saving decisions, resulting in significantly increased overall construction costs.
572 items
8 sources
3 inquiries
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
100match
#50 - Clear project scope definition essential to prevent cost escalation in infrastructure plans
The Department reflected that a key lesson from the experience of HS2, and which needs to inform all the Department’s future infrastructure plans, is that the Department needs to be very clear when it sets out on a large project what it is there to achieve. Changing the scope significantly when a project is already underway has a...
Matched on
terms: cost, escalation, project
Committee recommendation
100match
#28 - Geological Disposal Facility project experiences significant delays and slow progress.
The NDA also needs to construct a ‘Geological Disposal Facility’ (‘GDF’) to store waste permanently – including that currently at Sellafield. This project is still at a very early stage: it needs to drill boreholes before it can even start developing a ‘Preliminary Design’ and also needs to conduct a ‘Test of Public Support’ with the local community...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
100match
#13 - Major project delays and costs at Sellafield significantly escalated since 2018 due to poor planning.
When it last took evidence on Sellafield, the previous Committee was told that major project delivery was improving.32 The NDA told it that “cost forecasting is improving” while the Department said that “for the first time now, the estimates of those costs have begun to stabilise”.33 Even then though, the nine major projects underway were, between them, delayed...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
99match
#13 - Harlow health campus project plagued by spiralling costs, delays, and substantial written-off expenditure.
The need for a planned replacement to these facilities was initially identified in 2006 and Public Health England (UKHSA’s predecessor public body) was given approval to purchase the land in 2017. However, in February 2024 the NAO found that work on a replacement laboratory at Harlow had been intermittent since the land was purchased, with the programme suspended...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
95match
#22 - Ensure environmental legislation requirements do not disproportionately increase major public infrastructure project costs.
We challenged the Department on the balance in legislation that needs to be taken between meeting environmental obligations and costs, raising the example of the £100 million cost of a protective ‘bat tunnel’.36 In order to mitigate HS2’s impact on nearby bat habitats, the Sheephouse Wood Bat Protection Structure is being constructed near Calvert in Buckinghamshire. The structure...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
95match
#18 - Replacement Analytical Project faced significant cost increases and delays due to inadequate planning.
A notable exception to this positive trend is the ‘Replacement Analytical Project’ (RAP) – which Sellafield Ltd now believes should be abandoned.44 This project would have refurbished a laboratory on the site so Sellafield Ltd would be able to continue analysing samples of waste – which is essential to operate the site safely. It would also deliver new...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
94match
#23 - Home Office asylum accommodation plans consistently rated 'red' by Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
The Home Office had initially planned to be using the Northeye site to accommodate asylum seekers by March 2023, but this was delayed due to issues around the remediation costs and challenges getting the site operational. In March 2023, the Home Office changed the site’s status to a ‘long–term strategic site’, expecting that it would take six to...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
91match
#13 - HS2 cost estimates in 2019 prices are unsatisfactory, projected to reach £80 billion.
We expressed to the Department how unsatisfactory we found it that the cost estimates for completing the programme are still in 2019 prices. The Department agreed, telling us that it expects that any funding agreed at the spending review will be in current prices. It also explained that this will produce an increase in the estimated total programme...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
87match
#20 - Planning processes remain a bottleneck for charge point installation, increasing costs and delays
Similarly, many planning processes were not designed with charge point operators in mind, causing unnecessary additional cost and time. The Department explained that it had recently announced a series of changes to ease planning barriers and make it easier to install a charge point, such as greater permitted development rights, and streamlining the consents needed to install charge...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay
Committee recommendation
86match
#2 - Publish agreed HS2 cost estimate methodology and update programme costs regularly
The Department and HS2 Ltd’s failure to work together effectively is starkly illustrated by them not being able to agree how much HS2 will cost. The Department and HS2 Ltd have still not agreed on how much it will cost to complete Phase 1. They are yet to reach agreement on the methodology and assumptions that underpin their...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
86match
#8 - Rapid Deployment Cell costs significantly increased due to design changes and unforeseen site issues
We asked HMPPS why the costs of its Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) had risen so significantly.25 HMPPS said that increases were due to three factors: design changes as it developed its understanding of what was needed; site–specific costs due to unforeseen issues such as asbestos; and nutrient neutrality regulations, which require it to offset the impact of projects...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
85match
#4 - Assess new nature restoration fund's impact using HS2 bat tunnel case study
HS2 Ltd’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of HS2 are not delivering value for money, with the c.£100 million cost of a protective ‘bat tunnel’ more than doubling the cost of that section of railway alone. The Committee does not consider that the right balance has been struck between protecting the landscape and wildlife and the burden...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
78match
#24 - Department and HS2 Ltd recognise need for improved balance between environmental compliance and cost.
The Department strongly agreed, however, about how the balance between compliance and cost should be considered when delivering national infrastructure in the future.41 HS2 Ltd also recognised that it was a complex issue and a sensitive area, telling us that the structure needed local planning permission from Buckinghamshire Council which led to at least a four–year delay which...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay
Committee recommendation
77match
#56 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
Prior to the announcement of the Batch 2 contract, the Defence Secretary informed the House in a Written Ministerial Statement that there would be a 12-month delay to the Batch 1 frigates becoming operational, from October 2027 to October 2028. The cost of the project would therefore grow by 4.2 per cent, or £233 million.94 The Defence Secretary...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
77match
#2 - Outline realistic plans for delivering 14,000 prison places, managing risks and gaining permission.
MoJ’s and HMPPS’s plans to deliver the remaining 14,000 places by 2031 are still fraught with risk and uncertainty. MoJ and HMPPS acknowledge that they have not delivered prison places on time. We accept that they faced several challenges expanding the estate, such as dealing with environmental regulations and site–specific difficulties, but many of these were predictable and...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
NAO recommendation
76match
Levelling up funding to local government
Given the delays to projects across the Levelling Up Fund and Towns Fund, DLUHC should set out what further action it is going to take if projects cannot be completed within the existing funding deadlines. This could include resetting expectations for what and when these funds will deliver, to take account of rising cost pressures driven by factors...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay, project
Committee recommendation
74match
#48 - HS2 Euston exemplifies department's failure to learn from past major rail projects
The previous Public Accounts Committee also concluded in its 2023 report on HS2 Euston that it was another example of the Department making the same mistakes and failing to learn lessons from its management of other major rail programmes, highlighting the need for more work on cost estimation, the treatment of contingency and managing the integration of complex...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
74match
#3 - Report progress on HS2 contract renegotiations and plans for achieving cost savings
HS2 Ltd’s construction contracts are unacceptable to the public purse and it is imperative that HS2 Ltd deliver on its assurances to us that it can renegotiate these and deliver significant cost savings. The terms and operation of these contracts provide extremely poor value for money. HS2 Ltd did not heed the warnings that the previous Public Accounts...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
74match
#24 - Sellafield decommissioning costs have significantly risen, potentially compromising long-term value for money.
The forecast cost of decommissioning Sellafield has risen considerably since we last reported. It now stands at £136 billion, an increase of 18.8% since March 2019.68 We challenged the witnesses about the adequacy of the NDA’s budget as we are concerned that unwillingness to spend money in the short term is compromising long–term value for money as, ultimately,...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
73match
#58 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
The award of the contract to build five additional Type 26 frigates to BAE Systems is welcome news for Scottish shipbuilding, and importantly continues the shipbuilding ‘drumbeat’ into the medium-term. We note that, partly as a consequence of global challenges, the first batch of Type 26 vessels has faced delays and increased costs. 90 HC Deb, 15 November...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay
Committee recommendation
70match
#18 - HS2 Ltd acknowledges suboptimal contract risk management contributed to a £6 billion cost increase.
HS2 Ltd acknowledged that it has not managed these contract risks in an optimal or coherent way.30 In September 2023, HS2 Ltd estimated that the forecast cost of main civil construction work alone had increased by £6 billion (2019 prices) since 2020.31 27 Q 35; Department for Transport, HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: December 2024, 17 December 2024...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
70match
#16 - HS2 Ltd revised Phase 1 construction contracts in 2020, increasing its liability for cost overruns.
In July 2017, HS2 Ltd let contracts with four joint venture companies for the main civil construction work on Phase 1. However, in 2020, once the cost of building the railway became clearer, it revised the terms of the contracts in an attempt to ensure an affordable programme at that time. Contractors would no longer be liable for...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
70match
#6 - Update Parliament on HS2 Euston progress, funding, risk management, and costs
The Department’s plans for Euston carry huge risks given the uncertainties about its scope, cost, funding, schedule and delivery model. In the 2024 Autumn budget, the government confirmed that HS2 would terminate at London Euston rather than Old Oak Common in West London, but the scope of the work needed at Euston is unclear. The task at Euston...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
69match
#15 - GCAP must break the mould of previous multilateral defence programme failures.
Whilst progress to date has been positive, previous multilateral defence programmes have frequently seen costs spiral and delays pile up and GCAP will have to break the mould if it is to achieve its ambitious target date. Decisions made at this early stage around partnerships, delivery structures and workshare by both Government and industry will be key to...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay
Committee recommendation
69match
#12 - Ensure ongoing support for local authorities to conduct successful, good-value charge point procurements
These issues have led to delays; by October 2024 only 10 out of 78 projects had been approved for delivery against a March 2025 deadline. These delays have meant that many local authorities are going to market at similar times, posing the risk that the market may not have the capacity to serve them all and some procurements...
Matched on
terms: delay, project
Committee recommendation
69match
#2 - Update committee on LEVI programme progress, spending, procurement outcomes, and local authority support
Delays to the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme mean that local authorities need further support. The £450m LEVI programme supports local authorities in England to install charge points where they identify they are most needed. In setting up the programme the Department was able to apply lessons from its previous work, such as providing funding to build...
Matched on
terms: delay, project
IMB recommendation
68match
Glasgow, Edinburgh and Larne House Short Term Holding Facilities (2020)
That in future projects, funding for refurbishment be allocated from a single budget, with one agent having overall responsibility for successful completion of the work. This would avoid unacceptably long delays occurring, such as that experienced in the completion of the refurbishment of the HRs at Glasgow Airport (see (c) above).
Matched on
terms: delay, project
Committee recommendation
66match
#25 - Bat protection structure increased specific railway section costs from £73 million to £168 million.
In follow–up evidence, the Department confirmed that the total cost of building the structure will be £95 million (in 2019 prices). The Department also reported that the cost of building that section of the railway, irrespective of any mitigation works, would have been £73 million, meaning that the bat structure more than doubled the costs of that section...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
66match
#12 - HS2 Ltd's latest Phase 1 cost estimate significantly exceeds prior figures and funding envelope.
Prior to the October 2023 announcement, HS2 Ltd estimated that the total costs of Phase 1 would be £49 billion to £57 billion. The Department’s estimate was lower, at £45 billion to £54 billion but still above the funding envelope of £44.6 billion set in 2019. These estimates were all calculated 14 Qq 72–73 15 Qq 5, 37,...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
66match
#10 - Department and HS2 Ltd disagree on total programme cost estimates and methodology.
The Department and HS2 Ltd still disagree on the estimated total costs for completing the programme. Despite using the same data, the Department and HS2 Ltd told us that estimates differ because they disagree over a range of technical factors relating to the methodology used for the estimates and assumptions used, for example over the value of remaining...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
66match
#5 - Uncertainty remains regarding dangerous cladding remediation scope, costs, and completion timelines.
Eight years on from Grenfell, we are concerned that MHCLG still does not know how many buildings have dangerous cladding, how much it will cost to address, or how long it will take. MHCLG’s latest estimate, that 9,000 to 12,000 buildings will need remediating at a total cost of between £12.6 billion and £22.4 billion, is very broad...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
66match
#33 - Rising nuclear costs may restrict funding for critical non-nuclear defence needs, like military accommodation.
The increase in nuclear costs may restrict the money available for other important needs.76 For example, improving poor accommodation is crucial in addressing the military’s recruitment and retention problems.77 The Department recognises that this is an area where there has been sustained under-investment for many years, and it will take several years for the Department to get all...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
65match
#9 - Twenty-Fourth - Crossrail: A progress update
The £1.9 billion estimated cost increase consisted of £1,510 million of Crossrail Ltd costs, and £390 million of Network Rail costs. Schedule delay was the largest category of cost increase of Crossrail Ltd costs, accounting for £934 million. This was followed by £228 million of COVID-19-related costs.22 However, Crossrail Ltd told us that COVID-19 10 C&AG’s Report, para...
Matched on
terms: cost, delay
Committee recommendation
65match
#43 - Social housing providers diverting funds for cladding remediation impacts new home construction significantly.
The Government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament and expects social housing to be at the heart of the UKs’ housing supply. Against a backdrop of the construction sector reporting workforce shortages (paragraph 20), we asked the NHF how the government’s approach to remediation in the social housing sector was likely to impact the...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
65match
#4 - Map critical path for BECCS deployment and develop contingency plans for decarbonisation goals.
The deployment of BECCS has been repeatedly delayed, even though it remains a key part of the government’s plans to decarbonise the UK. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) and DESNZ both see BECCS as essential to the UK achieving its decarbonisation goals from Carbon Budget 6 (2033–37) onwards. Government initially planned for the first BECCS plant in the...
Matched on
terms: delay, project
Committee recommendation
62match
#24 - Delayed government guidance and existing litigation hinder resolution of remediation disputes
MHCLG’s Remediation Acceleration Plan (the Plan) commits to publishing guidance to help where disputes between parties are delaying remediation. However, in written evidence, the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF) noted that MHCLG made this commitment over 18 months ago and it was yet to be delivered.39 MHCLG described how it had tried to resolve disputes in the meantime, undertaking...
Matched on
terms: delay
Committee recommendation
62match
#28 - Development of small modular nuclear reactors globally faces significant delays.
We asked the Department why it was taking so long to get small modular nuclear reactors “up and going”.85 We also asked how it was going to make sure that a high percentage of the content of a modular nuclear reactor 75 Q 6 76 Q 8 77 National Energy Systems Operator, What happened with margins on 8...
Matched on
terms: delay
PFD report
61match
Terence Gillard
A dangerous uncontrolled pedestrian crossing on a multi-lane 40mph road lacks safety features and has a history of accidents. Redesign plans are uncertain and significantly delayed.
Matched on
terms: delay
Committee recommendation
61match
#18 - Department made slow progress and scaled back initial carbon capture ambitions
However, the Department has made slow progress in getting the first tranche of projects running. It had initially hoped to sign contracts with the first carbon capture projects in the second quarter of 2022, but this has been repeatedly pushed back.61 It also scaled down its ambitions for the first wave of projects. In the summer of 2022,...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
61match
#36 - Euston tunneling confirmed, but completion date for HS2 services remains unknown.
In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government confirmed that HS2 would terminate at Euston, announcing that it would fund the work to tunnel from Old Oak Common in west London to Euston.61 The previous Public Accounts 57 Qq 78–80 58 Q 47 59 Ibid 60 Qq 45–46 61 HM Treasury, Autumn Budget 2024, 30 October 2024. 20 Committee...
Matched on
terms: cost
PFD report
57match
Liam Seager
The absence of a pedestrian crossing on the A12 near a fatal collision site, coupled with delays in implementing a traffic management order and building a new crossing, poses ongoing risks.
Matched on
terms: delay
Committee recommendation
57match
#8 - Twenty-Fourth - Crossrail: A progress update
The estimated cost of Crossrail has increased by £1.9 billion since we last reported and now stands at £18.9 billion.18 This excludes the £1.1 billion cost of the new trains and the depot at Old Oak Common which have historically been reported separately.19 The estimated cost has increased because the programme was further from being complete than anyone...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
57match
#23 - HS2 Ltd concluded £95m bat tunnel was most efficient option after considering 15 alternatives.
HS2 Ltd confirmed that it was its decision to build the structure and not one required by Natural England. However, the Department and HS2 Ltd told us that, despite its cost, that they had concluded the ‘tunnel’ structure was the most efficient and appropriate way to protect the bats out of the 15 options considered.39 Other options were...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
57match
#11 - Planning permission for Garth prison faces judicial review; HMPPS seeks centralised approvals
HMPPS also acknowledged that while 95% of the remaining places had outline planning permission, permission for one of its new prisons, Garth, is currently under judicial review.35 MoJ and HMPPS explained that they are relying on proposed policy changes to how government approves planning permission through the Crown Development Route to avoid similar delays in the future. They...
Matched on
terms: delay
Committee recommendation
57match
#44 - MHCLG acknowledges remediation spending by social housing providers reduces new home building commitments.
We asked MHCLG about its understanding of the impact that £3.8 billion of self–remediation costs might have on social sector housebuilding, and whether it had undertaken any assessment of how many houses would not be built because money was being spent on remediation. MHCLG told us that it was “certainly the case” that social housing providers were having...
Matched on
terms: cost
IMB recommendation
56match
Kirkham (2021)
The Board is pleased that work has eventually started on the demolition of the old hangars, however progression has been much slower than planned and additional costs are being incurred. The funding included the building and furnishing of a new gym which is expected to be the final stage of the project. The Board wishes for a reassurance...
Matched on
terms: cost, project
IMB recommendation
56match
Ford (2025)
As we have reported for some years, the building infrastructure across Ford is failing, with each occurrence being addressed with short-term fixes, which, in the long run, cost the taxpayer more. Will the Minister commit to both undertaking a detailed survey and investigation of the existing fabric and services and to setting out a clear timetable for the...
Matched on
terms: cost
NAO recommendation
56match
Investigation into the East West Rail project (Oxford – Cambridge)
To maintain an affordable programme of work, DfT and EWR Co should reflect on learning from other recent rail projects and assure themselves that they have adequate controls and governance in place to monitor and manage costs.
Matched on
terms: cost, project
Committee recommendation
53match
#9 - HS2 programme reset to take until mid-2026 for assured contractual baseline.
We were told by HS2 Ltd that it would take time to implement the changes needed as part of the programme’s fundamental reset, with all of 2025 needed to ensure the organisation’s activities are all orientated towards delivering Phase 1. HS2 Ltd estimated that the reset would not be complete, with an “assured contractualised baseline” that can be...
Matched on
terms: cost
Committee recommendation
53match
#13 - Department spending additional £300,000 to resolve loan management system functionality issues
The Department recognised, at the time of the system going live, that it had to resolve a small number of issues to ensure the system was operating as intended, and it planned further improvements to functionality around, for example, automatic reprofiling.26 It told us that it had entered into another contract with PwC to get this additional functionality...
Matched on
terms: cost