HM Treasury’s guidance states that an AO assessment should be produced for a programme or project if, after its initial approval, it ‘departs from the four standards [for accounting officers] or the agreed plan […] in terms of costs, benefits, timescales, or level of risk, which informed the accounting officer’s previous approval’.50 While the guidance is not prescriptive about what this means in practice, IPA told the NAO that this could be interpreted as a substantial change to a programme’...

HM Treasury’s guidance states that an AO assessment should be produced for a programme or project if, after its initial approval, it ‘departs from the four standards [for accounting officers] or the agreed plan […] in terms of costs, benefits, timescales, or level of risk, which informed the accounting officer’s previous approval’.50 While the guidance is not prescriptive about what this means in practice, IPA told the NAO that this could be interpreted as a substantial change to a programme’s business case which alters HM Treasury’s approvals.51 The NAO found that departments consider whether a programme has undergone a significant changes i Type: conclusion | Number: 17 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 5. PAC conclusion: Government major programmes are experiencing significant challenges, such as skills gaps and inflation, which will impact on their feasibility and value for money. 5. PAC recommendation: HM Treasury and IPA should outline the extent to which cu