HS2: ‘how not to run a major project’
HS2 has been named a “cautionary tale that should be studied by future Governments in how not to run a major project” according to cross-party MPS.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which examines government spending , said the project “is now a reputational risk to the UK” and neither the Department for Transport (DfT) or HS2 Ltd currently have the skills or capabilities to make a success of the programme.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee said we are “long past” the point to make recommendations to deliver better passenger outcomes. He blasted the DfT which “failed to manage this enormous project and manage HS2 properly”.
To “salvage its extremely tarnished reputation,” DfT will need to employ people with the correct range of skill sets to oversee the project, after it “wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers money in delays and overspends”.
Very little progress has been made for former property and land owners, whose assets were acquired as part of HS2’s land grab and are no longer needed, says the PAC’s inquiry.
The report also picks out Euston Station, and HS2’s ‘bat tunnel’, as elements of concern. It finds that the £100m cost of the 1km bat tunnel, which did not strike the right balance between protecting wildlife and the burden on the taxpayer, more than doubled the cost of that section of railway alone.
On Euston, the Government’s plans currently rest on the £6bn cost being significantly underpinned by the private sector. The PAC says there is no clear plan for this, and it is sceptical that the private sector will come forward to the level required, whilst passengers, residents and businesses continue to face significant disruption at Euston.
Last year the PAC said the HS2 leg to Manchester has resulted in the project being “very poor value for money” and that there are “unknown ramifications of the decision to cancel HS2’s Northern leg”.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee said: “Our Committee has not made recommendations in our report on delivering better outcomes for HS2’s future passengers. We are long past that point. It is time to deal with HS2 as what it is – a cautionary tale that should be studied by future Governments in how not to run a major project.
“We are sceptical of Government’s ability to successfully deliver even a curtailed scheme, one which we already know will on its face bring very poor value for money. The question has instead become: what possible benefit can the Government now salvage for the taxpayer, from a mess that presents real risks to the UK’s overall reputation?
“This Committee has scrutinised HS2 since its inception. Our report lays out a catalogue of warnings proceeding from that scrutiny which, if heeded, may have brought about a different outcome. Both DfT and HS2 Ltd. must now begin the hard work of making this project the best possible version of itself in the circumstances, while swiftly addressing the needs of those impacted by decisions made under this scheme who are still waiting for answers.
“The Government must now look to future, and deliver on its responsibilities to Parliament and the wider public – through the lens of its accountability to the PAC”.
