The National Audit Office today published its report on assurance for major government projects, including the introduction of large IT systems, the construction of ships and helicopters and major changes to how services are delivered in support of government changes to the central assurance system.

The report details 205 projects in the Government Major Project Portfolio, totalling a combined whole-life cost of £376 billion, and annual cost of £14.6 billion- 39 of those projects have a delivery confidence rating of 'red' or 'amber/red'.

Martyn Hart, Chairman National Outsourcing Association said: “With the stakes of £376bn at stake the government needs to quickly prioritise its focus, as an alarming 1/5 of its major projects are in grave danger. Collecting and sharing information on what makes major projects go wrong – and what makes them go right – would be an enormous step to the government saving taxpayer’s cash. Knowing which deals are working is one thing, but government departments still need to do more in terms of sharing learnings with each other. Studying the BS11000 standard in Collaboration would be a good place to start eradicating a culture of persistent ‘wheel reinvention.”