1 We examined progress with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project, including: construction and operation of the Link; and the operation of Eurostar UK Limited, the British portion of the Eurostar train service. The objective was to assess how changes to the deal since 2001, when we published our first report about the project, have affected the value for money of the deal and altered the taxpayer's interests in it.
2 We used the Issue Analysis/Dinner Party, IADP™, approach first to design the scope of the examination and to determine the nature of the evidence required. Using this methodology, we set a series of high-level audit questions that we considered necessary to answer in order to assess whether or not the project remained worthwhile for the taxpayer. Following work to collect evidence we brought the audit questions together into the following groupings:
■ Have major risks to the taxpayer been successfully managed?
■ Is the funding of the project being well managed?
■ Is construction of the Link likely to be successful?
■ Is the operation of Section 1 meeting expectations?
■ Is appropriate action being taken to minimise the risk to the taxpayer from Eurostar?
■ Do the projected benefits of the CTRL project justify the costs?