Book Description
The work of the Major Projects Authority is supported but without stronger powers it is unlikely to achieve its aim of a systemic improvement in project delivery across government. The projects in the MPA's portfolio represent a huge and rising cost to the taxpayer. The MPA, however, only has informal influence over departments. It has no powers if a department decides to proceed with a project against MPA advice. It needs to have stronger, more formal mechanisms for driving change, and there should be transparency where ministers or officials have rejected its recommendations. The MPA also needs to focus its efforts more on the early stages of a project, working with departments to ensure that they have devoted sufficient attention to the concept, design and business case for projects before seeking approval. It could also improve its impact by prioritising its work more effectively. The creation of the Major Projects Leadership Academy is welcomed, but the MPA needs to target top decision-makers as well as managers. Nobody in central government is responsible for overseeing projects at a strategic whole-of-government level. The Treasury should take ownership and responsibility for overseeing the government portfolio. The MPA should also publish more information on each project, including the amount spent to date, even if this means reviewing the Government's transparency policy. There is also particular concern that the decision to award a 'reset' rating to the Universal Credit project may have been an attempt to keep information secret and prevent scrutiny
