HS2 Programme SRO appointment letter
Updated 20 February 2024
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Sender
Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport
Nick Smallwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Recipient
Alan Over, Senior Responsible Owner for the High Speed 2 Programme
Letter
8 February 2024
Dear Alan,
Subject: appointment as Senior Responsible Owner for the High Speed 2 Programme
Following the changes announced in Network North in October, we are writing to re-confirm your appointment as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the residual High Speed 2 (HS2) Programme with effect from the date of this letter. This letter sets out your responsibilities and the support you can expect from your department and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
As SRO, you are directly accountable to the Permanent Secretary, as the Principal Accounting Officer, and under the oversight of the Secretary of State for Transport and the Minister of State for HS2.
Your programme forms part of the Tier 1 Portfolio, under the oversight of the Chair of the Investment, Portfolio and Delivery Committee (IPDC) and is included in the government major projects portfolio (GMPP).
You have personal responsibility for the delivery of the HS2 Programme and will be held accountable for the delivery of its objectives, with policy intent and outcomes expected. This encompasses securing and protecting its vision, ensuring that it is governed responsibly, reported on honestly, escalated appropriately and for influencing the context, culture, and operating environment of the HS2 programme. You are also responsible for ensuring the ongoing viability of the programme and recommending its pause or termination if appropriate. Where issues arise that you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these to the IPDC, Secretary of State and Ministers.
You remain accountable to Ministers, as set out in the Civil Service Code, and should deliver the project in accordance with the objectives and policy intent as set by Ministers.
In addition to your internal accountabilities, SROs for GMPP projects and programmes are personally accountable to Parliamentary Select Committees. This means that, from the date of this letter, you will be held personally accountable to and could be called by Select Committees to account for and explain the decisions and actions you have taken to deliver the HS2 programme.
It is important to be clear that your accountability relates only to implementation, within the agreed terms in this letter; it will remain for the Minister to account for the relevant policy decisions and development.
More information on this is set out in giving evidence to select committees guidance for Civil Servants, sometimes known as the Osmotherly Rules.
Information on the roles and responsibilities of the SRO are detailed in the Infrastructure and Project Authority’s guidance on the role of the Senior Responsible Owner. You should also make yourself familiar with the government functional standard for project delivery, the requirements of the government project delivery framework, and the guidance and requirements for project delivery as set by the departmental frameworks and project and portfolio delivery directorate (PPDD).
Time commitment and tenure
This will be a full-time role to enable effective delivery of the role and execute your responsibilities in full.
You are required to undertake this role until further notice. Progress will be reflected in your personal objectives. Any changes to the agreed time commitment or tenure of the role, as set out above, will require both departmental and Infrastructure and Projects Authority consent.
Objectives and performance criteria
The policy intent supported by this programme is to construct and deliver into service a new high-speed, high-capacity railway between Birmingham and London with a connection to the West Coast Main Line at Handsacre, improving capacity south of Birmingham and improving journey times between the Northwest, West Midlands and London.
Furthermore, HS2 is part of the Transport Decarbonisation plan by providing low carbon transport between London, Birmingham and the Northwest.
Any proposed changes to scope which impact this intent or the realisation of benefits must be authorised by the Permanent Secretary, the Secretary of State for Transport and/or the Minister of State for HS2 and may be subject to further levels of approval.
Your personal objectives and performance criteria which relate to the programme are to assess the revised scope, improve the efficiency of Phase 1 delivery by HS2 Ltd and re-position Euston as a development-led regeneration project using private finance where possible. HS2’s rate of progress and efficiency will in part be determined by the availability of funding from HMT and DfT and you should negotiate the right balance between the programme, department and exchequer interest.
- you are expected to run your project in accordance with the government functional standard for project delivery, the other functional standards as applicable to this programme and the requirements of the government project delivery framework
Extent and limit of accountability
Finance and controls
HM Treasury spending controls will apply on the basis set out within the department’s delegated authority letter. Where the HS2 programme exceeds the delegated authority set by HM Treasury, the Treasury Approval Point process will apply, and the details of each approval process must be agreed with your HM Treasury Spend Team. You should consult departmental finance colleagues on how to go about this.
You should note that where expenditure is considered novel, contentious, repercussive, or likely to result in costs to other parts of the public sector, HM Treasury approval will be required, regardless of whether the programme expenditure exceeds the delegated authority set by HM Treasury. If in doubt about whether approval is required you should, in the first instance, consult departmental finance colleagues before raising with the relevant HM Treasury Spend Team.
The overall estimated budget, resourcing requirements and tolerances for your project/programme will be agreed as part of the approval process. You will be expected to deliver within these tolerances and report quarterly on these as part of GMPP reporting.
You should operate at all times within the rules set out in managing public money. In addition, you must be mindful of, and act in accordance with, the specific HM Treasury delegated limits and Cabinet Office controls relevant to the HS2 programme. Information on these controls can be found here: Cabinet Office controls.
Delegated authority
The current estimated expenditure for the programme for 2023 to 2024 is as follows (shown in 2019 prices).
| Phase (CDEL excluding L&P) | £m nominal |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 (inc Euston) | £7,133 |
| Phase 2a | £162 |
| Phase 2b Western Leg | £98 |
| Central Allocation | £138 |
| Total CDEL | £7,531 |
| L&P | £m nominal |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 (inc Euston) | £330 |
| Phase 2a | £53 |
| Phase 2b Western Leg | £74 |
| Phase 2b East (HS2 East) | £22 |
| Total CDEL | £478 |
Workforce planning budget
| Description | Total 2023 to 2024 budget (£’000) |
|---|---|
| HS2 Ltd core workforce budget | 218,000 |
Budgets for all years to programme closure will be determined at future spending reviews which are subject to change from present central assumption.
Your authorised expenditure is set out in your delegation letter dated 9 June 2023. You are authorised to agree programme rescheduling, provided you are satisfied that the expenditure can be accommodated under the annual expenditure limit, as agreed with HM Treasury in which the rescheduled expenditure would now fall.
Re-scheduling beyond this must be agreed with IPDC, Ministers and Secretary of State and if appropriate may require wider cross government agreement.
Following the Spring Budget announcement, the department has agreed a revised provisional financial settlement with HM Treasury for the funding of HS2 over financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25. You will be required to adhere to the HM Treasury conditions set out in this Settlement.
These authority limits are subject to change. Other conditions or tolerances may be set as part of the business case approval and ongoing monitoring processes within which you should then operate.
Where issues arise which take you outside of these authority limits which you are unable to resolve, you are responsible for escalating these issues to the IPDC, the Permanent Secretary and the Secretary of State for Transport/the Minister of State.
This delegation applies to you in your current role. Until it is replaced or rescinded, it will automatically apply to any successors in your post, subject to any changes to the budget allocations agreed by the Executive Committee (ExCo) or the Secretary of State during the year.
Appointments
You have appointed full time Directors for each part of the programme, to support you in the management of the HS2 Programme as a whole and should make other appointments as required for the control and delivery of your programme within your delegated authority.
Governance and assurance
You should pay attention to ensuring effective governance for your programme, including the establishment of a programme board with appropriate membership and clear terms of reference.
As primary owner, you must ensure that the programme secures business case approval from IPDC and the relevant HM Treasury Spend Team. You should also ensure that the programme remains aligned to the strategic outcomes, costs, timescales, and benefits in line with the approved business case as well as monitoring the context within which the programme is being delivered to ensure it remains valid.
Where a change impacts the scope, costs, benefits, or planned delivery milestones agreed as part of an agreed business case, you are responsible for following the agreed change request approval process and setting a new, approved, business case baseline.
You should ensure that an Accounting Officer Assessment is completed alongside the approval of the Outline Business Case and that this is published on GOV.UK as part of the government’s transparency requirements on major projects. You are responsible for bringing to the attention of the Accounting Officer any material changes in the programme which could require a new Accounting Officer Assessment to be completed and published. Guidance on completing Accounting Officer Assessments for major projects is available from HM Treasury.
Although you are directly accountable for this programme, you are also expected to support delivery of the department’s overall strategic objectives. This means that you are expected to work collaboratively with other SROs and Project Directors in adjacent projects and programmes and with the department’s Major Projects Portfolio office and Portfolio Director to manage dependencies, resources, schedules, and funding to support delivery of the overall change the department needs to achieve its strategic objectives.
You should ensure that appropriate and proportionate assurance is in place and agree on the level and frequency of assurance reviews through the maintenance of an Integrated Assurance and Approvals Plan. You should develop this plan and its maintenance in collaboration with the departmental Assurance Co-ordinator and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
HS2 Programme status, reporting and transparency requirements
The programme status at the date of your appointment is reflected in the most recent quarterly return on the programme to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and is the agreed position as you assume formal ownership of the programme.
You are responsible for ensuring the honest and timely reporting on the position of the programme to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority while it remains on the GMPP and for providing reports and information to the Portfolio and Project Delivery Directorate (PPDD) Portfolio Management office as required. Reporting should include carbon measurement, and other sustainable development goals demonstrating evidence that the project contributes to an overarching environmental strategy and is aligned with defined Net Zero pathways. Information on the HS2 programme will be published annually by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
As part of the government’s commitment to transparency on major infrastructure projects, you are responsible for publishing on GOV.UK a:
- summary of the Accounting Officer Assessment completed in line with the approval of the outline business case and summaries of any subsequent assessments should they be required
- summary of the HM Treasury approved full business case
- close out report after the programme has completed
Development and support
As a graduate of the Major Projects Leadership Academy, you are expected to maintain your continuing professional development as a project leader, and you are encouraged to take an active part in MPLA alumni activities.
The department will assist you in securing the necessary resources to support the programme, and will set clear guidance, requirements and standards, which align to the government functional standard on project delivery, to enable good governance and effective delivery. You will be part of the department’s cohort of major project leaders who will be expected to support each other, share good practice and lessons learned and to collectively develop solutions. You should liaise with the department’s Head of Profession for Project Delivery to discuss the maintenance and development of your delivery and leadership skills.
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority will be available to you for support, advice, and assurance throughout the programme’s time on the GMPP.
Following approval of the business case and entry onto the Tier 1 Portfolio, PPDD will provide ongoing oversight and support and will take steps to help resolve and escalate risks, issues or constraints that are acting as a blocker to successful delivery.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you every success in your role as SRO.
Yours sincerely,
[Signed]
Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB
Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport
[Signed]
Nick Smallwood
Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure and Projects Authority
Conformation of acceptance of appointment
I confirm that I accept the appointment of Senior Responsible Owner for the HS2 Programme, including my personal accountability for implementation, as set out in the letter above.
[Signed]
Alan Over
8 February 2024