Civil servants and ministers must be firmer in rejecting extra demands on major projects such as HS2, the government’s infrastructure advisor has warned.
Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, told members of the transport select committee yesterday (15 January) that greater pushback is needed to limit delays and cost rises on big build projects.
He told the committee: “I think there is a natural inevitability that when government, and by that I mean the whole machinery of government, is doing something, there is a desire to actually please people, rather than a more private sector approach, which says, ‘Sorry, I have not got any more money. That is all we can afford’. And I think government is not very good at saying that.”
Committee chair Ruth Cadbury (Labour) asked whether bringing control of HS2 in-house to the Department for Transport would mitigate risks on the project.
Armitt replied it was likely to create too much oversight and this could further slow the high-speed rail project.
In October last year, then transport secretary Louise Haigh announced an independent review into the delivery of major transport projects, and described the delivery of HS2 as “dire”.
In his appearance before the committee yesterday, Armitt said: “I’ve never been convinced by the governance structure of HS2. I can understand it being very difficult for ministers to stand back when they’re the ones who have to defend what’s happening.”
But he added: “It’s bound to lead to delays and, I fear, at times too much desire to meet every concern and objection and requirement for extra facilities within a scheme.”
Armitt added that another issued was the local agreements that had to be negotiated, which had also slowed progress on HS2.
MPs were also told clarity was needed on the pipeline of future rail infrastructure projects. Armitt said suppliers needed certainty on which rail projects will go ahead in future.
“What remains to be done is for the government to produce a real integrated rail plan so the supply can side see what’s going to happen,” he said.
He added that what the rail industry and contractors were looking for was “a proper long-term plan on how the money is going to be spent”.
Armitt also called for integration between road and rail planning, saying: “You tend to have two silos in the Department for Transport… that needs to be looked at in a much more integrated and strategic approach.”
In the spring, the NIC will be merged with the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) to form a new national body.
MPs asked what the NIC had achieved until now.
Julia Prescot, NIC deputy chair, told the select committee that the commission has outlined projects up to 2040, which has not been done before.
But it would now be “hugely beneficial” to create a rail project pipeline, she added.
Armitt and Prescot’s comments were followed by publication this morning (16 January) of the IPA’s annual report.
It included a call by a government minister for greater use of data and AI in infrastructure and construction projects to improve value for money.
In her forward to the report, Georgia Gould, parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, said: “We now need to embrace new ways of doing things and to seize the opportunities that come with a digital revolution. At a time of rising prices, particularly in construction, data analytics and AI are important tools to deliver value for money for the taxpayer.”
The report on major taxpayer-funded projects included a ‘red’ rating for the New Hospital Programme, indicating that the successful delivery of the project “appears to be unachievable”.
