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| Major Projects Authority | |
|---|---|
| Name | Major Projects Authority |
| Formation | 2011 |
| Dissolved | 2014 |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Whitehall |
| Superseding | Infrastructure and Projects Authority |
| Parent agency | Cabinet Office (United Kingdom) |
Major Projects Authority
The Major Projects Authority was an executive office within the Cabinet Office (United Kingdom) established to oversee high-value capital programmes and complex initiatives across multiple departments including Department for Transport, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, HM Treasury, Ministry of Defence, and Department of Health and Social Care. It operated alongside bodies such as Infrastructure UK and later merged operations to form a successor aligned with National Audit Office practice, drawing on standards from Office of Government Commerce and audit frameworks used by Government Accountability Office and National Audit Office international counterparts. Its remit involved risk management, assurance, and the maintenance of project portfolios similar to processes in European Investment Bank stewardship and multinational procurement models found in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidance.
The office emerged from reviews including recommendations in reports by Gareth Davies (barrister), Sir David Walker (banker), and findings linked to crises such as delays seen in Crossrail and cost overruns echoing lessons from HS2 proposals and legacy issues from New Labour infrastructure spending. Its predecessors included functions formerly performed by Office of Government Commerce and advisory teams within HM Treasury and Cabinet Office (United Kingdom), responding to high-profile programme challenges like those faced by Ministry of Defence in F-35 Lightning II procurement and public service changes referenced during the 2010 United Kingdom general election transition. In 2014 the organisation was combined with Infrastructure UK to form the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, consolidating assurance activities informed by methods used at World Bank, European Investment Bank, and International Monetary Fund programme reviews.
The organisation provided independent assurance and oversight for major initiatives such as the Universal Credit rollout, capital projects in National Health Service (England), and transport investments like Crossrail. It published methodologies and assurance frameworks aligned with standards from Prince2 and advice comparable to guidance by Institute of Civil Engineers and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Responsibilities included project assessment against criteria used by HM Treasury spending reviews, risk registers similar to those maintained by Bank of England oversight units, and escalation procedures reflecting practices seen in Public Accounts Committee inquiries and National Audit Office reports. It provided advisory services to secretaries such as Chancellor of the Exchequer and coordinated with lead officials including permanent secretaries from Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport, and Department for Education.
The office reported to senior officials in Cabinet Office (United Kingdom) and collaborated with HM Treasury executive directors, regional directors linked to Devolved administration bodies, and professional heads comparable to those in Government Digital Service. Its senior leadership included a chief executive supported by assurance directors, portfolio managers, and analysts often drawn from Civil Service (United Kingdom) cadres and secondments from Private sector consulting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, and McKinsey & Company. The entity interfaced with cross-government boards like those chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and engaged external reviewers from organisations similar to National Audit Office and academic partners at London School of Economics, Oxford University, and Cambridge University.
Portfolios under supervision included defence procurement such as the Type 45 destroyer programme, health estates modernisation in National Health Service (England), transport investments like Crossrail and elements related to Heathrow Airport expansion debates, digital transformation efforts akin to Gov.uk services, and welfare reforms including Universal Credit. It conducted assurance reviews on large IT contracts similar to those scrutinised in the NHS National Programme for IT inquiry and advised on capital projects financed through instruments used by UK Guarantees Scheme and international financiers such as the European Investment Bank.
The organisation produced assessments feeding into public reporting channels used by the Public Accounts Committee and informed spending rounds overseen by HM Treasury. Its performance metrics referenced progress indicators like those used in National Audit Office value-for-money audits and benchmarks comparable to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development public investment evaluations. Accountability mechanisms included ministerial briefings to holders of portfolios such as the Secretary of State for Transport and parliamentary scrutiny similar to sessions before the Select Committee on Public Administration.
Critics, including commentators in outlets discussing the 2015 United Kingdom general election and researchers from Institute for Government, argued the body could be bureaucratic and limited by departmental silos, reflecting concerns earlier raised about Office of Government Commerce capacity and the need for clearer mandates like those proposed after inquiries into NHS National Programme for IT. Reforms culminated in the 2014 merger with Infrastructure UK to create the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, intended to strengthen end-to-end delivery capability and align assurance with recommendations from the National Audit Office, Institute for Government, and international comparators such as World Bank project management practice.
Category:Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom