The committee recommends the DfT “put in place a clear plan to build sufficient, appropriate skills in the organisation to match the scale and ambition of its portfolio of projects”.
A report published by her committee today also criticises DfT permanent secretary Philip Rutnam for the decision to move a senior civil servant, Michael Hurn, from one major project to another.
Hurn had been senior responsible (SRO) officer for the Thameslink programme since 2008, but moved to the HS2 project in June this year.
The committee said that it is “worried about the impact this will have on the Thameslink programme given the scale of what remains to be done to complete it by 2018”.
It adds: “The apparent need to move the Thameslink SRO onto High Speed 2 illustrates the scarcity of the project management and commercial skills that the department has available” and “highlights the shortage of project management skills in the Department to deliver its wider portfolio of projects”.
The report casts doubt over the timescale of the project, due to a three-year delay in awarding the contract to build the new trains. However, an interview with CSW earlier this year Rutnam rejected claims that delays had reached three years, saying there had been a one year set-back, due to uncertainties created by the Eurozone crisis.
A spokesman for DfT said the department is currently driving a “major recruitment programme” in order to “enable DfT to support all aspects of its rail activities to ensure we have the right people employed in the right roles”.
The spokesman added: “The responsible directors for franchising and major projects are continuing to work jointly to ensure that the right resources are available to enable delivery of the significant benefits of the Thameslink programme.”
See also: DfT has ‘shortage of commercial skills’, says committee report