BCIS hits out at HS2 overspend

The Building Cost Information Service has hit out at cost overspends on HS2, blaming the lack of a public works department. David Crosthwaite, chief economist at the BCIS, said: “We’ve just had the delivery of a massively delayed and over budget project – Crossrail. You would think they would learn from their mistakes but they don’t.” He blamed a skills shortage within the project, which has resulted in the heavy use of consultants. “Decades ago, there was the public works department that essentially had responsibility for costing business case development and everything to do with delivering public projects,” he said. “But that was in a completely different era and no longer exists. So the capability is not in-house, meaning they have to go out to consultants who are going to charge whatever they can get away with.” HS2 has spent more than £280m on consultants in the last seven years, despite promises to reduce its reliance on external contractors. More than £100m was paid to PwC alone. The Times (£)