Secure Children's Homes Commissioning
MOJ · MOJ_0259_2324-Q1
Department page: Ministry of Justice
| Data as at | Rating | End date | Whole-life cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | Amber (the department's own assessment) | 1 April 2026 | £390m (price basis not stated) |
| March 2025 | Amber (the department's own assessment) | 31 March 2026 | £246.01m (price basis not stated) |
| March 2026 | Green (the department's own assessment) | 30 April 2026 | £270.91m (in 2024/25 prices) |
Each year’s cost is shown with its price basis. Costs are not compared between years: the March 2024 and March 2025 reports state no price basis, and from March 2026 costs are in 2024/25 prices.
The department’s commentary
This is the department’s own commentary. It may use different prices from the table above, so its figures may not match.
March 2026
Rating: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the Delivery Confidence Assessment at 25/26-Q4 has increased to Green. This is due to the completion of all transition activities. The project is on schedule to close in line with project plan.
Schedule: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's end date at 25/26-Q4 changed from 31/03/26 to 30/04/26. This is primarily due to the project allowing additional time to ensure a full closure process is completed.
Cost: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's Whole Life Costs at 25/26-Q4 increased from £246.01m to £270.91m. This is primarily due to the additional funds being made available to maintain as much capacity as possible within the custodial sector. All costs have been reported in 2024/25 base prices in line with NISTA requirements. This is a change from previous years where costs were reported in nominal prices. All costs reflect this accounting reduction regardless of any actual changes.
March 2025
Rating: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the Infrastructure Project Authority's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 remained at AMBER. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ Inflation risks could increase the cost estimate.
Schedule: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project's end-date at 24/25-Q4 decreased from 01/04/2026 to 31/03/2026. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ The project is on track to deliver against the baseline schedule.
Cost: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 24/25-Q4 (measured in £m) decreased from 390 to 246. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ The decrease reflects the removal of previous contract running costs from before the project started.
Source: NISTA Annual Report 2024-25 (data)
March 2024
Rating: The Senior Responsible Owner's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 23/24-Q4 is Amber. This is primarily due to the following factors. This is the first time data has been published for this project, which has been added to GMPP over the last year. The Amber Delivery Confidence Assessment is driven by inflation risks contributing to the increasing cost estimate, which is greater than that estimated previously.
Schedule: The project's end-date at 23/24-Q4 is 2026-04-01. This is primarily due to the following factors. The project is on track to deliver against the baselined schedule.
Cost: The project's departmental-agree Whole Life Cost at 23/24-Q4 is 390m. This is primarily due to the following factors. The Whole Life Costs are based on the most recent business case and include optimism bias.
Source: IPA Annual Report 2023-24 (data)
Names, figures, dates, ratings and commentary are as the department reported them. Where a rating, cost or date is withheld, the file’s wording is shown. Every major project →