Type: Policy

ICE responds to PAC major project governance and decision-making consultation

Date: 14 April 2025

The ICE’s response to the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into major project governance and decision making lays out the challenges associated with delivering major infrastructure, and the existing literature that the committee may want to consider.

The ICE has responded to the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry on major project decision making and governance.

There is a strong case for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of major infrastructure delivery. Trust in governments worldwide is in decline, and the UK is no exception. One of the central ingredients to rebuilding that trust will be the successful delivery of infrastructure projects up and down the country.

But, as in other jurisdictions, the government’s ability to deliver major, and mega, projects has failed to meet expectations over many years.

Unless delivery issues are addressed, the public are likely to lose faith that they will get the infrastructure they have been promised. Ongoing delivery challenges would also jeopardise the net zero transition, which needs to progress at pace.

Equally, the opportunity cost of the added cost to each individual project comes at the expense of other infrastructure investments that could deliver substantial benefits and an improved quality of life for the public. Non-delivery and the stop-start nature of project prioritisation also further discourages private investment – or costs the public more as private sector players price additional risk.

This inquiry is far from the first to focus on these issues. There is plenty the PAC can learn from the failures and successes of domestic and international projects, including High Speed 2, which the ICE has produced a review of.

The infrastructure sector, and government’s own recommendations for change have, for many years, been relatively consistent, and are numerous. The questions the inquiry might focus on include how existing and new structures in the government advisory and assurance system (including the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority) might help embed these learnings across major public projects.

The ICE explores some of the existing literature and lessons from best practice project delivery, and where things haven’t gone to plan in the submission linked below.