The Association for Project Management (APM) has welcomed a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Project Delivery (APPGPD), launched at the House of Commons on 12 November.
Building a Better Future: Inquiry into improving the delivery of national infrastructure projects warns that major schemes risk being “boiled in the pressure cooker of Government, Parliament, the media and public expectation” unless decisive action is taken. The report sets out several recommendations for the UK Government to strengthen the delivery of national infrastructure.
The APPGPD, chaired by Henry Tufnell MP, launched its first inquiry in March 2025 to address the persistent gap between policy ambition and successful delivery. Evidence submitted by infrastructure organisations, project professionals, academics and APM affiliates showed that too many projects fall into the “valley of death” between policy and delivery, where momentum is lost to bureaucracy, political turnover and a shortage of specialist skills.
The report concludes that the current system does not reliably deliver infrastructure on time, within budget or in a way that delivers maximum public value. Henry Tufnell urged ministers to consider the recommendations, engage with the APPG and embrace solutions offered by the infrastructure sector.
Speaking at the launch, Llinos Medi MP, Vice Chair of the APPGPD, said, “Projects that are delivered efficiently and successfully boost economic growth and productivity. With the launch of the Government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy and the national infrastructure project pipeline this summer, the APPG’s report is incredibly timely to ensure that we get the delivery of future projects right.”
APM’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Humayon Pramanik, added, “APM has been lucky in that we’ve been quite close to this report. We’ve seen this report develop into something incredibly powerful. There is plenty in it to be happy about and hopeful about as well.”
Key Recommendations
The report makes several proposals to strengthen project delivery across government:
- Embed long-term delivery discipline through the 10-year infrastructure plan and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), with clear targets, defined accountability and major projects protected from short-term political disruption.
- Mandate independent delivery assurance for all major projects before announcement and ensure project delivery specialists are involved from policy inception. Departments should also set clear benchmarks for the proportion of officials who are delivery professionals.
- Require project management training for Senior Civil Servants and anyone managing government projects over £10 million, with each department appointing a Chief Project Officer.
- Establish a National Infrastructure Delivery Skills Roadmap to ensure a stable talent pipeline aligned with long-term national priorities, supported by protected funding for training and apprenticeships.
- Strengthen public sector capability for Public-Private Partnerships, ensuring teams have the negotiation, financial, engineering and legal expertise needed to secure taxpayer value.
- Reform procurement, encouraging early supplier engagement, embedding project professionals throughout the process, and adopting lessons from international best practice.
- Empower NISTA to oversee national infrastructure projects from policy to completion, ensuring consistency and accountability across government.
- Require major projects to publish Public Value Statements to improve public understanding of the benefits of national infrastructure.
‘Embedding project expertise at every stage’
APM Chief Executive Professor Adam Boddison OBE said, “This report makes clear that closing the gap between infrastructure ambition and delivery is vital to the UK’s future prosperity. The APPG on Project Delivery’s recommendations recognise that professional project delivery is the key to achieving better outcomes for the economy, society and taxpayers.
“By embedding project expertise at every stage – from policy design to on-the-ground execution – and by investing in the people and skills that make delivery possible, we can ensure national infrastructure projects are delivered efficiently, sustainably and with lasting social and economic benefit.
“I’d like to thank APM corporate partners and individual members for their support in submitting written and oral evidence to the APPG inquiry.”
