The government’s handling of mega-projects is under scrutiny as the National Audit Office (NAO) warns that costly and complex infrastructure schemes are at risk of overruns and spiralling budgets without major reforms.
The NAO report comes in the week Labour unveiled its Planning and Infrastructure bill – designed to cut red tape and give investors confidence to back huge energy builds like power stations, storage and windfarms.
However the NAO says caution is needed.
Their report calls for tougher oversight and stricter approval processes before projects get the green light.
With a 10-year infrastructure strategy due later this year, the report urges the government to rethink how it manages these massive developments, which are often risky, ambitious and strategically vital.
…too many mega-projects have suffered delays and budget blowouts due to unclear goals, poor leadership and pressure to get things moving too quickly.
National Audit office
It warns against committing to multi-billion-pound schemes before fully understanding their feasibility, value for money and long-term costs.
Without stronger governance, the watchdog says, the UK risks repeating past mistakes where political pressure rushed projects into development before they were properly thought through.
To prevent further failures, the NAO has made key recommendations to HM Treasury and the newly established National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).
It says projects should be categorised based on their risk and importance, ensuring high-stakes developments receive the strictest scrutiny.
Governance structures must also be strengthened to clarify who is responsible for key decisions and who is held accountable when things go wrong.
The report also calls for major reforms to project gateway and business case approvals, ensuring that no project proceeds without robust checks on affordability, feasibility and value for money.
The NAO warns that without these changes, taxpayers could be left footing the bill for poorly managed schemes that fail to deliver.
With infrastructure at the heart of the government’s economic growth plans, the NAO says it’s time to get serious about how these mega-projects are planned and executed.
It wants a more disciplined approach to avoid the mismanagement that has plagued previous schemes and ensure major projects deliver real benefits without breaking the bank.
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