09 November 2007
The Highways Agency must rely less on external consultants, as 'poor commercial acumen' is leading to projects going massively over budget, MPs have said.
In a report published on November 8, the Public Accounts Committee said the agency is 'overly reliant on consultants for project management expertise and needs to develop its in-house capability'.
The PAC warned that this was vital as some of the agency's most experienced staff are due to retire in the next five years — at the same time that larger and more complex road schemes begin.
Committee chair Edward Leigh said: 'The agency is… unable to get on top of providing accurate estimates. A lot of this is down to poor commercial acumen by the Department for Transport and the agency.
'It must recruit and retain its own staff with commercial skills and the ability to act as intelligent and challenging customers of the consultants.'
By September 2006, the 36 schemes completed under the improvement programme — building new roads or widening existing ones — had cost 40% more than estimated, the PAC said.
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