Although construction of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning
Centre has not yet begun, the National Audit Office (NAO) has
identified several emerging risks and uncertainties at this stage
of the programme which are likely to increase costs and cause
delays.
The creation of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre was
recommended by the Holocaust Commission in January 2015. The
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is
responsible for managing the delivery of the programme, supported
by a UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation Advisory Board. DLUHC aims
to ‘create a fitting National Memorial to the six million
murdered Jewish men, women and children and other groups who
became victims of Nazi persecution, accompanied by a learning
centre that will enable visitors to gain a greater understanding
of the scale and nature of the Holocaust and of Britain's role in
relation to it'.
The NAO's investigation sets out findings on how DLUHC is set up
to manage the programme, maximise its impact, and manage risks to
cost and schedule.
As part of its investigation, the NAO found:
- The Department has set up governance arrangements for the
programme
- The Department has clearly set out what it considers to be
the strategic benefits of the Memorial and Learning Centre and
mapped them against its objectives
- The programme has controls to try to safeguard against
substantial cost increases
The NAO also identified the following emerging areas of risk to
the programme:
- DLUHC has recruited specialists from across the Civil Service
and externally, but the team does not have staff with programme
management expertise in senior positions
- DLUHC estimates that difficulties in finalising planning
permission for the intended location of the Memorial and Learning
Centre had caused at least 12 months of delays as at June 2022
- DLUHC does not have an alternative location if it is unable
to build the Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower
Gardens
- The creation of the organisation to run the Memorial and
Learning Centre is an additional risk to the schedule
- There are several sources of funding for the construction of
the Memorial and Learning Centre, but not all are guaranteed.
As new risks have emerged since the full business case was
approved (such as difficulties with planning permission and
construction cost inflation), the NAO recommends that DLUHC
should have further discussions with HM Treasury about how best
to control cost increases. DLUHC should also ensure that senior
programme and project leaders have the necessary skills or have
completed appropriate training, in line with government guidance.
