Public reporting of Scotland’s major transport projects must improve

Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government must improve their public reporting on major projects, says an Audit Scotland review of five key projects costing £3.8 billion in total to build.

An Audit Scotland report, Scotland key transport infrastructure projects, reviews the progress of the Forth Replacement Crossing, ‘Aberdeen bypass’ project, Edinburgh-Glasgow rail improvement project, ‘M8 bundle’ of motorway improvements, and Borders Railway.

The report says:

• Transport Scotland expects to deliver all five projects within their current budgets and to complete four on time
• Transport Scotland is managing the risks to each project well but cannot eliminate them completely
• Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government must improve their public reporting; the full public sector financial commitment for these projects has not been reported until now
• The projects are expected to commit £7.5 billion of public money over 30 years. The Scottish Government considers this affordable in the long-term but has not fully demonstrated the reliability of its analysis.

Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner said:

“The five key transport projects we report on are central to the Scottish Government’s aim of strengthening Scotland’s economy and recovery. It is encouraging that all are currently on track to be built within budget and four are on time.

“Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government need to improve their reporting on major projects to the public and to the Scottish Parliament. The estimated full public spending commitment for these five projects has not been reported until now; and the forecast building costs for some have been incompletely or inconsistently reported.

“These projects will cost an estimated £3.8 billion to build and will tie up about £7.5 billion of public money over 30 years. It is important for the Scottish Government to demonstrate that this spending is affordable.”

The report also recommends Transport Scotland improve its processes for developing and updating business cases for major projects. Good business cases are vital for project scrutiny, decision-making and transparency. However, for the Borders Railway and EGIP projects, Transport Scotland did not ensure that business cases were complete and up-to-date at all stages. Consequently, at certain decision points, it had not fully demonstrated the viability, value for money and affordability of these projects.