The first two sections of the HS2 rail line are currently rated ‘unachievable’ by the Government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), as is a major government programme to fund infrastructure in support of new housing.
The IPA, which monitors the status of major projects on behalf of the Government, has published its Annual Report 2023-23, covering a Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) comprising 244 projects with a total whole life cost of £805bn.
Among a number of high-value transport projects, HS2 Phase 1, currently under construction, and HS2 Phase 2a, which would take the line from the West Midlands to Crewe, have a red rating.
The IPA defines a red rating as: 'Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable. There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed.’
The HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg, which would take the high speed line to Manchester, now has an amber rating, defined as: ‘Successful delivery appears feasible but significant issues already exist, requiring management attention.’
Connection Stages (CS) 2 and 3, of East West Rail (EWR), which will facilitate services from Oxford to Cambridge, now have an amber rating, having been red last year.
With EWR CS1 currently under construction, CS2 would predominantly upgrade existing infrastructure between Bletchley and Bedford to allow services between Oxford and Bedford, while CS3 involves building a new line, between Bedford and Cambridge.
The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), a £4.2bn central government programme due to provide funding to 124 infrastructure schemes to ‘unlock’ the construction of up to 300,000 homes, also has a red rating.
A large number of HIF projects have run over budget during the last year as a result of inflationary pressures, with some receiving extra cash and some being scrapped.
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