Almost £200bn of government projects face HS2-style crises

Telegraph

2 hours ago

Almost £200bn of government projects ranging from prison expansion plans to nuclear waste disposal face delays, cost overruns and HS2-style crises, ministers have been warned.
The value of schemes where 'successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable' doubled last year from £97bn to £198bn, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista) has warned.
Examples of projects that have run into trouble include prison expansion plans in the latest threat to the Government's ambition to create enough capacity to house criminals, rather than releasing convicts early to free up space.
One scheme to build small, secure house blocks for category C prisons has faced 'challenges with construction costs affecting the deliverability of the programme that require further review', Nista said.
Another project to expand and refurbish prison blocks to hold more convicts has been derailed as 'the programme's key supplier entered administration'.
Both schemes are among those downgraded to a 'red' rating by Nista, indicating 'major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable'. This is the same rating given to the disastrous HS2 rail programme.
Nista works with the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on project management for major infrastructure and other key developments.
Other projects facing a downgrade to 'red' include the Ministry of Defence's Type 31 frigate programme as costs spiral.
'The impact of inflation will require a reset of the programme's approved budgetary limit,' Nista said. 'Challenges also remain in the first of class schedule against an ambitious build timeline, developing a new combat system for the Royal Navy and the complex integration challenge.'
Significant delays
Elsewhere, costs are also rising at the new maintenance facilities for the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarines, where 'velocity has not been as forecast' as a result of delays in the design phase of the Devonport project.
'Workforce shortages' and 'subpar supplier performance' have separately held up the Skynet 6 military satellite programme.
Meanwhile, HS2 is not the only rail project to run into trouble.
Northern Powerhouse Rail, linking key cities in the North, has been forced to delay or pause some of its projects to stay on budget, while 'unaffordability' fears prompted Nista to downgrade its rating for the Geological Disposal Facility, a plan to bury nuclear waste deep beneath the ground in Cumbria at a cost of billions of pounds.
Nista studied 213 projects with a total lifetime cost of almost £1tn. Of those, just 30 – amounting to 14pc – were given a 'green' rating, indicating they were likely to be delivered on time, on budget and at the desired quality, with no major problems looming.
An amber rating, where the project 'appears feasible but significant issues already exist,' was given to 63pc of the schemes.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, promised to improve the delivery of major projects.
'For too long, the sector has suffered from a multitude of issues, challenges and setbacks. This Government will deliver on its commitment to provide a clearer, more ambitious vision that fixes the foundations and rebuilds Britain,' he said.
'This Government will do things differently and learn lessons from past mistakes.'
Becky Wood, Nista's chief executive, said: 'The delivery of infrastructure and public services in the UK has long been challenged by complexity, fragmentation and missed opportunities.
'These challenges have at times led to inefficiencies, slow progress and a lack of coherence across the system. There is much to address in continuing to improve on our collective approach to delivery.'