‘Major issues’ with HS2, Holocaust memorial and nuclear subs, ministers warned

A larger number of major UK projects, including HS2, a national Holocaust memorial centre and nuclear reactors for submarines, are considered unachievable than in previous years, a report to ministers reveals.

Some 27 of the 227 large-scale schemes overseen by the Government appear to be unachievable, according to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s latest annual report.

The first phase of the HS2 railway line between London and Birmingham is among the projects classified as unachievable – rated “red” – in the report, which is based on data gathered before March 2024 under Rishi Sunak’s government.

Projects are more likely to be flagged as red in the early years of construction or development, the report says.

But HS2 has instead been downgraded from an amber rating to red in recent years, and is among the schemes considered to have “major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable”.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd stressed the project would “lay the foundations for the future of the rail network”, adding: “However, we recognise that the programme faces serious challenges and our new CEO Mark Wild is now leading a comprehensive review which will be delivered to government later in the year.

“This will lead to a full reset of the project, ensuring that HS2 is delivered safely, efficiently and to the lowest reasonable cost.”

More projects are considered undeliverable in the 2023-24 report than in the previous year, with 9.5% of the schemes, 23 out of the 244 on the books, flagged as red in the 2022-23 report.

This rose to 12%, or 27 of the 227 on the books in the latest assessment.

Other projects which “may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed” include the planned UK Holocaust Memorial Centre in central London, which would be built in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament.

The memorial centre, currently tied up in planning and parliamentary limbo, has been rated as unachievable by the authority for three years running.

Doubt is also cast over the future of the Core Production Capability, aimed at creating safe new reactors for Britain’s nuclear submarines, and the transformation of the former military base in Manston, Kent, in order to house migrants.

The Tory government’s new hospitals programme was also rated as unachievable in the report, which is based on data when the Conservatives were still in power.

Started by Boris Johnson’s government, the scheme was expected to be backed by £20 billion, and was aimed to build new hospital facilities.

As the crisis of crumbling Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) became apparent, money from the scheme was prioritised for hospitals most affected by the material’s degradation.

When Labour came to power, they put the project on ice, as it was considered “undeliverable and unaffordable”, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

The new Government has however continued with rebuilds at hospitals most impacted by Raac.

A larger number of projects were rated as amber in the authority’s previous assessment: those considered “feasible” but with “significant issues” that were resolvable if addressed swiftly.

Some 183 were rated amber in 2022-23, falling to 163 in the latest report.

The fall in part appears to be as a result of a diminished number of schemes on the authority’s radar.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The ratings and data used in this report relate to the previous government.

“This Government will deliver the infrastructure the country needs: not simply through investment, but by reforming planning rules and fast-tracking 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure by the end of this Parliament – more than double the number decided in the previous Parliament.

“From railways and roads, to energy and defence, we are committed to delivering exceptional public services and infrastructure for people across the country with investment and reform through our Plan for Change.”