§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the cost to date of the British Antarctic Survey; and what was the degree of error over the control of the projects revealed by the National Audit Office.
§ The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Blatch)The cost of the British Antarctic Survey from 1967–68 to 1992–93 has been £272 million in historic cash terms.
The recent National Audit Office study (The British Antarctic Survey: Management of Major Capital Projects and Scientific Programmes) was conducted as part of the National Audit Office's programme of value for money studies, aimed in particular at identifying best practice for the future. The study concluded that, overall, the BAS had achieved reasonably good value for money on each of the major capital projects surveyed. However, the NAO concluded that some of the survey's procurement action did not fully comply with best practice. In relation to the management of scientific programmes, the study concluded that the survey's approach, and in particular the peer review programme and the science managements audits, proved a comprehensive, effective and independent basis for review of the survey's performance.