MPs have launched two inquiries into how the government procures major infrastructure and whether the civil service has the expertise and structures needed to deliver projects effectively.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Project Delivery will lead separate investigations into procurement and contract management, and into the organisation and capability of the civil service.
Procurement under scrutiny
The procurement inquiry will examine cases in which government decisions on procurement or contract management have contributed to higher costs, delays or weaker value for money.
It will consider what an effective process for government-sponsored projects should involve, including when ministers and officials should retain expertise in-house rather than rely on contractors. The inquiry will also assess the role of project-delivery professionals in procurement and whether common contractual safeguards should be made mandatory.
Skills and accountability
The second inquiry will assess whether the civil service has the skills, experience and structures to take infrastructure schemes from policy development through to implementation.
Its terms of reference include whether ministers and senior officials understand project delivery sufficiently, how delivery expertise could be better recognised and rewarded, and whether projects can be protected from the effects of electoral cycles.
MPs will also examine the role of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), the balance between public- and private-sector expertise, and whether devolution could improve delivery.
The inquiries follow the APPG’s November 2025 report, Building a Better Future, which said projects were too often entering a “valley of death” between policy and delivery because of bureaucracy, political churn and shortages of project skills.
The report called for project specialists to be involved earlier in policymaking, greater supplier involvement at an earlier stage of procurement, and mandatory project-management training for senior civil servants and people managing government projects worth more than £10m. It also recommended that NISTA oversee national infrastructure projects from policy through to completion.
APPG chair Henry Tufnell MP said the inquiries would focus on “two of the biggest barriers to success: the gap between policy and delivery, and procurement practices that can contribute to higher costs, delays, poor value for money and missed opportunities to deliver wider economic and social benefits to communities”.
Heathrow timetable adds pressure
The announcement comes as Heathrow Airport has warned that a proposed third runway may not open until 2039, later than the government’s stated ambition of 2035.
Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive of construction labour-supply firm Hercules, said: “Britain needs to turn long-term infrastructure ambition into a deliverable pipeline. If 2039 is the realistic timetable for Heathrow expansion, the priority now should be certainty and a clear delivery plan.”
He added that greater visibility would give construction and infrastructure companies confidence to invest in “people, skills, apprenticeships and capacity” and strengthen the supply chain.
Written evidence to both APPG inquiries is due by 7 December.