1.2 The public sector as a whole delivers many more projects than those central government major projects included in the Portfolio. It is difficult to estimate the total number and value of public sector projects. However, the following sources suggest that the total is likely to be much larger than the figures given in the Portfolio, although there is some duplication between them. For example:
• In July 2015, the national infrastructure pipeline covered 564 infrastructure projects, worth £411 billion of planned public and private investment from 2015-16. It included 17 projects that were in the Portfolio with a whole-life cost of £177 billion; it also included other public sector projects that were not in the Portfolio, such as local transport and Network Rail projects.
• HM Treasury's capital spend data for the public sector as a whole shows that planned departmental capital spend for 2015-16 is £42 billion, most of which will be managed as projects. Given that the capital element of budgeted spend on the Portfolio is £16 billion in the same period, this indicates that there may be nearly twice as much capital project spend outside the portfolio. This includes all devolved and some local government spend, arm's-length bodies and departmental capital spend on projects that are not monitored by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, formerly the Major Projects Authority (the Authority). It does not include Network Rail and locally financed capital spend.
• Most departments track projects in addition to those in the Portfolio, for instance HM Revenue & Customs has an estimated change budget of £490.9 million for 2015-16 and the Department of Energy & Climate Change monitors 19 initiatives outside the Portfolio.
• In addition, the government could potentially be financially liable for projects where it has provided a contingent liability arising from guarantees, indemnities, and letters of comfort or similar legal obligations.