Independent review of the Department of Infrastructure

The Council of Ministers has commissioned an independent review of the capacity and capability of the Department of Infrastructure.

The review, which will be carried out by management consultants Beamans, will comprise two elements.

Firstly, it will appraise the capability and capacity of the centre of the Department to effectively manage the interface with its divisions, including an assessment of policies, practice, procedures, and protocols which form part of those arrangements. In particular, the Review will explore how existing management and organisational arrangements could be improved to provide more effective governance and accountability.

Secondly, the review will examine the Department's ability to assume responsibility for all capital project activity across Government, excluding those projects with a value greater than £3m, which in future, are to be managed by the Cabinet Office.

The Chief Minister, Howard Quayle said:

'Included in the package of approvals provided by the Council of Ministers for the improvement of the delivery of Infrastructure Investment, which was announced as part of the Budget, was a requirement to undertake an independent review of the capacity and capability of the Department of Infrastructure in respect of its responsibility to deliver capital projects under £3m and built environment infrastructure for Government.

'In addition to this I have also requested that a broader review of the Department be undertaken to consider its capacity and capability to deliver its services more generally.

'It is important that the arrangements we have in place for the management of infrastructure projects are fit for purpose and I look forward to hearing the views of Beamans Management Consultants on how the Department can be best organised and resourced to ensure effective delivery of these projects in the future.'

It is important to note that that this is not a review of the effectiveness of Department’s operational delivery; it is a review of the effectiveness of Department’s management and governance arrangements for managing the interface with its various operational divisions, services and clients.

The review is scheduled to commence early March with a target date for submission of a report by the end of April 2021.