Project Delivery

The £15.8bn Crossrail programme was commended for demonstrating good programme management by a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, published yesterday.

An official responsible for an IT contracting error which cost the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £70m is no longer working for the department, its permanent secretary Jon Thompson told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 16 June​.

Civil servants responsible for running major projects will be able to tell parliament when ministers directed them to make particular decisions, under proposals published by the government.

The former UK Border Agency (UKBA) was doomed to fail due to its sheer scale and constant media attention, its former chief executive Rob Whiteman has said.

The number of major projects on track to be delivered on time and to budget has fallen from 32 to 17 over the year, while the number of projects in serious danger of failing has fallen from eight to four, according to new figures from the Major Projects Authority (MPA).

Civil service policymakers still need to improve their focus on outcomes and policy implementation, two top officials have said

Serious questions remain about accountability for Universal Credit in light of Robert Devereux and Iain Duncan Smith’s latest appearance before MPs, the Institute for Government has said.

The government should send more civil servants to the European Commission (EC) as part of their regular career paths, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said.

The Major Projects Authority (MPA) is extending its range to cover 100 more projects from next year, CSW has learnt.

Prime minister David Cameron has called on civil servants to “talk truth to power and tell it like it is” in order to improve policy.

Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has intervened in a bid to end the political briefings against work and pensions permanent secretary Robert Devereux.

The civil service must “significantly” improve its ability to understand company accounts if it is to make effective use of open-book contracts, according to government chief operating officer Stephen Kelly and chief procurement officer Bill Crothers.