1 The government's major projects and programmes (programmes) range from transport infrastructure, military capability and nuclear projects, information technology (IT) and digital programmes through to ones to improve school or government buildings. The Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), which includes government's largest, most innovative and most risky programmes currently includes 125 major programmes at a combined whole-life cost of £448 billion. Many current programmes combine bespoke features and new technology, and aim to be transformational, whether that is transforming services, communities, or departmental systems. For example:
• High Speed Two will introduce a new, high speed railway across the country using technology not yet used in the UK.
• Carrier Strike involves building new aircraft carriers, a radar system and supply and support ships, buying new aircraft and then making them work together to undertake a range of military tasks.
• The programme to carry out significant work to restore the Palace of Westminster will involve bespoke work on a historic building.
• The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme will replace the mobile communications service used by three emergency services.
2 The government chooses which programmes to invest in; how they are set-up, their scope, objectives, budget and timescale. The scale of major programmes chosen and designed by government, the condition of the supply chain, and the needs of the different communities they affect - for example, because of where the programme is located - can create complexities in how programmes need to be delivered. Some complexity in government programmes is also created by necessity - for example, in programmes to introduce advanced new military capability or to overhaul outdated government IT systems.
3 In order to secure best value from the significant amounts of public money the government has committed, it is crucial that government can successfully navigate the challenges of delivering its major programmes. However, government programmes often encounter difficulties, taking longer and costing more than planned, and not delivering the intended aims, with significant and high-profile consequences.