B.6 Departments should notify Treasury as soon as a Major Project is recognised internally as a serious option. The initiative should then undergo a Starting Gate, and submit an Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan (IAAP). HMT will use the IAAP and Starting Gate report to decide the level of approval scrutiny the project requires, choosing from a range of tools, which are outlined below. The level of scrutiny will depend on project cost and risk, and the department's track record for managing project spending.
•Major Projects Review Group (separate guidance attached at annex C)
•TAP decision with panel meeting.
•TAP decision without panel meeting.
B.7 Departments should submit business cases to Treasury for approval once they have been signed-off by internal senior management, including sign off by the department's finance division. The business case should be accompanied with other significant documentation e.g. an up-to-date IAAP, the most recent independent piece of assurance, risk register and commercial strategy.
B.8 Spending teams and, where appropriate, various experts will carry out an assessment on the material provided by the department.
B.9 Where appropriate, TAP will coordinate with Cabinet Office and act as a joint approval process for Major Projects for the following Cabinet Office controls, as well as HMT approval. Currently these controls are:
• ICT spend over £5million
• Marketing and advertising spend over £1 00,000
• For the signing of new leases, renewals of existing leases, the non-exercise of lease break options, any new property acquisitions (including those made through a Public Finance Initiative provider), new build developments, sale and leaseback, and any freehold sales as part of national property controls.
• Spend on a complex or non-standard commercial model (e.g. joint venture) for a service or Business Process Outsourcing.
B.10 Please note that the above only applies to Major Projects. For other items captured by Cabinet Office moratoria, the current process remains.
B.11 Spending Teams will inform departments if a TAP panel meeting is required.