Public project assurance methodology
Improvements and rigor needed in public project assurance methodologies, including updated tools and reviewer training.
1,942 items
10 sources
6 inquiries
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
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: methodology, project, public
Committee recommendation
83match
#10 - Home Office acknowledged rushed acquisitions led to abandoned projects and wasted public funds.
We were concerned by the amount of public money the Home Office has spent on these projects, which have either been abandoned or have not delivered the expected benefits. During our evidence session, we questioned the Home Office on this, and it stressed again that it “acted with pace” to meet Ministers’ expectations and address a need to...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
81match
#28 - Ensure Department and HS2 Ltd secure necessary skills for successful programme delivery.
The Public Accounts Committee has repeatedly raised concerns over whether the Department and HS2 Ltd have had the necessary skills and capability to deliver HS2 successfully. In 2020 the previous Committee cautioned that it was not yet convinced that the Department and HS2 Ltd had the skills and capability they needed either then, now or in the future.46...
Matched on
terms: assurance, project, public
Committee recommendation
78match
#11 - Department and HS2 Ltd are working to agree cost estimation methodology with Treasury.
Both the Department and HS2 Ltd told us that they were working together to reach an agreed methodology including drawing on third–party technical advice on cost estimation and, to ensure that the underpinning assumptions of future estimates are agreed, establishing an oversight group with HM Treasury representation.18 The Department expressed confidence that there would be agreement on the...
Matched on
terms: methodology, public
Committee recommendation
77match
#25 - Accounting Officer could not confirm Rwanda policy offers value for money without deterrence evidence.
Accounting Officers are responsible for approving, in advance, all significant initiatives, policies, programmes and projects, and should provide assurance to Parliament that those activities are meeting the accounting officer standards set out in Managing Public Money – regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility.42 In April 2022, the Accounting Officer assessed that they were not able to conclude...
Matched on
terms: assurance, project, public
Committee recommendation
77match
#2 - Set out changes to ensure Home Office investment decisions use comprehensive information and transparent consultation
In its haste to purchase the Northeye site, the Home Office ignored opportunities to properly understand the risks and costs of developing it, leading to poor value for money for the taxpayer. The Home Office asserts it did a “fair amount” of due diligence before acquiring the Northeye 4 site, but the NAO highlighted significant shortcomings. The Home...
Matched on
terms: assurance, project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#8 - Insufficient evaluations of government major projects, with significant departmental gaps remaining.
There are too few evaluations of government’s major projects. As we pointed out in our May 2022 report on the use of evaluation and modelling in government, in 2019, only 8% of £432 billion of spend on major projects had robust impact evaluation plans in place, and 64% of spend had no evaluation arrangements at all. HM Treasury...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#26 - Home Office lacks clear methodology and data for assessing Rwanda scheme's deterrent effect.
Assessing the deterrent effect, and thus value for money, of the scheme will be complex. The Home Office recognised that it will be difficult to isolate the impact of the Rwanda partnership from other government policies intended to stop small boat crossings and reduce illegal migration, such as the agreement with Albania to return failed asylum seekers, work...
Matched on
terms: methodology, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#2 - Mandate Home Office to detail future due diligence processes protecting taxpayers' money on projects.
In its haste to establish large accommodation sites, the Home Office made unacceptable and avoidable mistakes, and failed to protect value for money. The Home Office asserts that its need to deal with a “national emergency” meant it had to take quick decisions, and so it pressed ahead with setting up expensive large asylum accommodation sites without an...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#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: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#20 - Home Office prioritised speed over assurance when acquiring large asylum accommodation sites.
We asked the Home Office why, despite spending large sums of public money on these large sites, many of them did not achieve the expected benefits. It explained that both the previous and current government had strategies to exit hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.63 The Home Office explained that the urgency behind its actions stemmed from a significant...
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#20 - Value for money assessments do not fully mitigate unsuitable carbon capture project risks
When selecting which clusters to proceed with and which projects to select within each cluster, the Department assessed value for money against five criteria: deliverability; economic benefits; costs; carbon savings; and learning. Once the shortlist of Track 1 projects had been reached, the Department conducted a full value for money assessment, following Green Book guidance.66 In terms of...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#4 - Department and Treasury lack clarity on accounting for CCUS project underperformance and scientific advances
The Department and HM Treasury lack clarity on how they would take account of project underperformance and advances in scientific understanding as part of their ongoing assessment of the programme’s future. The Department had a clear set of five factors it considered when assessing the value for money of the first two clusters and then the individual projects...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#51 - Incremental delivery of infrastructure projects offers better control and earlier benefits
The Department also suggested to us that the delivery of infrastructure has been too focused on “grand projects or big schemes that are binary—you do them or you don’t do them” as opposed to setting a long–term intent and delivering it in smaller incremental stages. The Department explained that in such circumstances it can be easier to commit...
Matched on
terms: project, public
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: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#33 - Department defends new Euston delivery body necessity due to project complexity and private investment.
We challenged the Department over the necessity and added risk of establishing an additional delivery body to oversee the works at Euston and its surroundings. The Department recognised that setting up new organisations is far more complex and difficult than is often thought, and that its experience with HS2 Ltd demonstrates that it is difficult to set up...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#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: project, public
Committee recommendation
74match
#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: methodology, public
Committee recommendation
69match
#14 - Home Office acquired Northeye site with incomplete information and insufficient contamination surveys.
The Home Office assessed the acquisition against the Accounting Officer tests, concluding that the proposal met the tests of regularity, propriety and feasibility, presented in the Accounting Officer Advice. The assessment also found that the use of the site for asylum accommodation represented value for money when compared with the cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels over...
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
Committee recommendation
66match
#17 - Previous Public Accounts Committee warned HS2 Ltd about managing revised contracts and cost risks.
However, the previous Public Accounts Committee was clear on the risk of these changes and that HS2 Ltd needed to closely manage these contracts. In its May 2020 report it warned that: “Now that it is bearing more of the risk of cost increases, HS2 Ltd also needs to ensure that it has the right commercial skills to...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
65match
#21 - Home Office culture normalised emergency operations, weakening approval processes for asylum accommodation sites.
We were concerned about a prevailing culture within the Home Office that normalises operating in an emergency and led it to weaken approval processes when acquiring large sites like Northeye. Moreover, it has often appeared that the Home Office has prioritised appearing to address the issue of asylum accommodation over value for money and the effective implementation of...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#18 - Ensure realistic market sale price for Northeye site if government decides to resell it.
The contract for the Northeye acquisition contained conditions that meant that the longer it took the Home Office to complete the purchase beyond a six–week timeframe, the more money it would pay. The National Audit Office reported that despite these terms being questioned by some of the Home Office’s advisers, those leading the purchase felt that the terms...
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#13 - Home Office bypassed standard valuation and approval processes for Northeye site acquisition.
Both the Ministry of Justice’s property function, which provided an outsourced property service to the Home Office, and the Home Office’s external property advisers recommended conducting a ‘Red Book’ valuation for the site, as typically required for a site requiring remediation. However, the Home Office negotiated the purchase of the Northeye site without one.32 During our evidence session,...
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#12 - Home Office acknowledged inadequate due diligence and community engagement for Northeye acquisition.
When we asked the Home Office what it had done to understand the risks before acquiring the Northeye site, it told us it did a “fair amount of due diligence” and repeatedly emphasised that “with the benefit of hindsight” 22 Qq 52, 53 23 Q 7; Home Office, Breakdown of Home Office costs associated with the MEDP with...
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#4 - Address cultural issues allowing Home Office controls and processes to be overridden too easily.
We are concerned that the Home Office’s culture allowed it to override too easily the controls and processes in place to protect taxpayers’ money. The Home Office appears to have been operating in crisis mode for several years and now asserts that it is moving back to business- as-usual. It argues that its response to an “emergency” meant...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
65match
#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: assurance, public
NAO recommendation
65match
Lessons learned: Governance and decision-making on mega-projects
For mega-projects, HM Treasury and NISTA should strengthen the project gateway and business case approval processes to ensure that government has assurance about the affordability, value for money and feasibility of the project before it is given final approval to proceed. This might include only providing funding to take the project to the next stage of development and...
Matched on
terms: assurance, project
Committee recommendation
61match
#19 - Home Office large asylum sites programme suffered poor value for money and significant failures.
In May 2024, the previous Public Accounts Committee reported on the Home Office’s development of alternative asylum accommodation to hotels, including large sites at Scampton and Wethersfield, the Bibby Stockholm vessel, and former student accommodation in Huddersfield. The Committee found that the Home Office’s value for money assessments of the large sites fell short of reality and risked...
Matched on
terms: public
NAO recommendation
60match
The challenges in implementing digital change
Individual departments and public bodies should: d) carry out proper evaluation and assurance in the early stages of a digital programme to understand its complexity and scope, assess how realistic the chance of success is and reflect this in the programme approach;
Matched on
terms: assurance, public
NAO recommendation
60match
Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Programme
• develops a clear assurance plan appropriate to the risks and maturity of the Programme. This should make the most of opportunities for the Programme to be externally assured, such as through the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Matched on
terms: assurance, project
Inquiry recommendation
60match
ETI-11 - Public Fund Protection
Scottish Ministers and local authorities funding light rail should protect public funds through: conditional grant payments with review hold points; critical review and approval of Business Cases and contracts; involvement in project delivery; and requiring local authority compliance with Transport Scotland procedures.
Matched on
terms: project, public
Inquiry recommendation
57match
RHI-13 - External Expertise on Project Boards
Project boards are an essential element of project management oversight and must include individuals who can challenge and who are not directly responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the project. Such boards, in appropriate circumstances, can benefit greatly from the inclusion of individuals external to the Northern Ireland Civil Service, preferably with experience/expertise in the project subject matter.
Matched on
terms: project
Inquiry recommendation
57match
RHI-11 - Project Management Disciplines
Best practice project and risk management disciplines should be the default practice within the Northern Ireland Civil Service when developing novel and complex policies and managing their implementation. These disciplines can be widely applied and should not be confined only to major or capital projects. They can be tailored to the specific circumstances of an initiative and are...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#13 - Home Office underestimated large accommodation site set-up costs due to optimism bias and inadequate expertise.
We were concerned by the Home Office’s assessment of the set-up costs to convert the two former RAF bases to accommodation. At the outset, the Home Office estimated that such costs would be £5 million for each site, but the costs increased to £49 million at Wethersfield and £27 million so far at Scampton. We asked the Home...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
57match
#4 - Clarify OVfM's scrutiny process for investment proposals, including selection criteria and methods.
The Treasury must clarify how the OVfM will scrutinise investment proposals in the Spending Review process. This should include the criteria by which the OVfM selects investment proposals for scrutiny. The Treasury should also provide the method by which such investment proposals will be scrutinised, including the time horizon over which projected savings will be assessed. In addition,...
Matched on
terms: project
Committee recommendation
57match
#15 - Home Office failed to complete a full business case for the Northeye site acquisition.
The Small Ministerial Group, established around November 2022, implemented concessions to the process of acquiring sites, including dispensing with the requirement for a full business case before approving acquisitions. The Home Office began drafting an outline business case for the acquisition of the Northeye site, dated 1 March 2023, but never completed it.42 When asked why a full...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
57match
#24 - HMRC has not formally assessed transaction-based reporting, despite its acknowledged compliance benefits.
HMRC has not pursued some controls used in other countries, including ‘transaction–based reporting’ where businesses are required to regularly report all sales and purchases to the tax authority, giving up to date information on the VAT owed.71 We asked HMRC why it had not pursued 63 C&AG’s Report, para 2.15 64 Q 37 65 C&AG’s Report, para 2.5...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
57match
#5 - Strengthen HMRC VAT registration controls and explore transaction-based reporting benefits.
HMRC’s VAT registrations processes are far too open to abuse, and it is not exploring options to tighten controls sufficiently. Checking whether businesses are genuinely UK established is important for VAT because online marketplaces are liable for VAT from overseas businesses selling on their platforms but not for UK established businesses. HMRC does not routinely check addresses when...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
57match
#39 - Department developing programme for disposing of HS2 surplus land and property
In February 2024, the previous Public Accounts Committee stressed the need for the Department and HS2 Ltd to develop a strategy for the disposal of land and property, and to balance the need for value for money for the taxpayer with the needs of those who have been affected. The Committee commented that the Department and HS2 Ltd...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
57match
#34 - Department stresses need for correct financial incentives in new Euston delivery company.
The Department also pointed to the need to get the financial incentives right in the new delivery company, including what the shareholding and financial participation would be between the different bodies, so that people consider the collective interest, not just their own interests. The Department reasoned that having that in one delivery body, rather than dispersed across four...
Matched on
terms: public
Inquiry recommendation
56match
RHI-19 - Business Case Approval Redesign
The processes within a Department for approving new expenditure and business cases including, where it forms part of that process, the role of Casework Committees, should be thoroughly re-designed to be more rigorous, testing and independent. Such processes should be less bureaucratic and pay greater attention to examining the unique features of the project proposed.
Matched on
terms: project
NAO recommendation
56match
Investigation into the UNBOXED festival
We consider it important for public transparency and visibility that this evaluation should be published and should: ? include information to allow DCMS and Festival 2022 Ltd to fully understand the volume and nature of participation for each project alongside the final cost of each. This analysis could then be used in conjunction with the identification of other...
Matched on
terms: project, public
Committee recommendation
53match
#26 - Home Office acknowledges its 'entrepreneurial' asylum site acquisition approach was flawed.
During our evidence session, the Home Office described its approach to acquiring large sites as “entrepreneurial”. It explained that this strategy was about piloting and testing approaches while operating at speed with limited information.90 The Home Office explained this as a good approach for identifying what works, quickly learning from failures, and adapting accordingly.91 We therefore, asked the...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#22 - Home Office failed to adequately assess acquisition risks and costs for Northeye site.
When the Chief Secretary to the Treasury approved the acquisition of the Northeye site on 25 March 2023, he noted that the value-for-money case was marginal and based on assumptions that were highly uncertain.71 The cost of remediating the building of asbestos and removing contaminated ground estimated at £20 million did not feature in the Accounting Officer’s advice.72...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#17 - Home Office lacked oversight of contracted property staff, incurring additional Northeye costs.
In April 2021, the Home Office contracted staff who had previously worked under the Ministry of Justice’s property function to provide in-house expertise in commercial property transactions. From August 2022, the contracted staff managed the acquisition of the Home Office’s interests in the Northeye site.49 The National Audit Office reported that the Home Office did not put in...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#16 - Home Office made limited use of Ministry of Justice property expertise for Northeye acquisition.
Since 2016, the Home Office has had a shared-services agreement with the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) property function to provide a range of property services on behalf of the Home Office. For the Northeye acquisition, the Home Office made limited use of this arrangement, only engaging a firm through the MoJ to conduct some aspects of due diligence....
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#11 - Home Office failed to fully action Northeye site survey recommendations on contamination and costs.
The Home Office commissioned some surveys but not a complete ‘Red Book’ survey and sought some additional professional advice on the state of the Northeye site before deciding to purchase it. Preliminary surveys of the site warned of potentially high remediation costs. For example, the planning appraisal, completed in February 2023, highlighted a high risk of contamination across...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#7 - Home Office cited 'pace' and ministerial pressure for rapid Northeye acquisition.
When we asked the Home Office whether it had rushed its decision to acquire the Northeye site, the Home Office told us it was “operating at pace” to address the growing number of people claiming asylum. The Home Office said Ministers were “pushing” the department to progress quickly with this acquisition.12 It explained that there was a clear...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#42 - Department must balance Crichel Down rules with human impact in property disposal
The Department told us that it is obliged to secure value for money for the taxpayer and to follow the Crichel Down rules, which require government departments to offer surplus land back to the previous owner at the current market value. However, the Department acknowledged that the rules need to be applied in a way that remembers that...
Matched on
terms: public
Committee recommendation
53match
#41 - Committee urges sympathetic handling of property offers back to former HS2 owners
We pressed the Department to ensure that wherever possible, properties should be offered back to the persons from whom they were purchased, and that requests from people who would like to move back into their former homes be handled sympathetically, given that it can take years for cases to be considered through the Crichel Down rules. We raised...
Matched on
terms: public