Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office Minister, on why Oxford and the city’s Said Business School are the perfect place to improve leadership skills in the civil service.

Aircraft carriers, Crossrail, the Olympic Games – major projects are rarely out of the headlines. Unfortunately, in the past the headlines all too often ended with the phrases “over budget”, “behind schedule” or “out of control”.

That is why this Government was determined to bring new rigour to project management and learn lessons from past failures. Three years on and a lot has improved, but there is still a very long way to go to reach the standards we think the public deserve.

Wasting money on mismanaged projects is unacceptable at the best of times. With Britain still facing a large deficit, it’s even more reprehensible. That’s why tightening up the delivery of major projects is a core part of this Government’s efforts to save hardworking taxpayers’ money and improve public services. It’s part of an overall approach to reshaping the way Whitehall works which saved taxpayers an unprecedented £10bn pounds last year alone.

When we looked to sharpen project leadership skills in the Civil Service, Oxford was a natural choice for the site of our new Major Projects Leadership Academy. We want to tap into the deep excellence of Oxford University’s Said Business School to offer civil servants a world-class training programme. Whitehall will gain the expertise and experience it needs. And Britain will get ahead in the global race.

Last week I was in Oxford to meet some of those currently on the new training programme. In their day job, these civil servants deal with everything from military helicopters to maternity hospitals. But here they are going back to study. They need to understand their strengths and weaknesses, while learning from each other’s successes as well as previous failures. Together they will share expertise and hone their skills.

Like any student, they find the course intensive and there is some heavyweight reading and assignments thrown in for good measure. But it’s meant to be challenging – it wouldn’t be working if it was easy. In future, no civil servant will lead a Government major project without completing training here in Oxford. It’s no less than the taxpayers deserve to have appropriately-trained people running the most complex and important projects.

Already 90 government project leaders have graduated from the Leadership Academy, and the success rate for major projects is steadily improving. There’s still a long way to go to run projects effectively, but we are on the right track and major project reforms will continue.

The benefits of these reforms won’t just be felt in Whitehall. We will deliver more savings for taxpayers by building in-house expertise and reducing our reliance on costly consultants. Since the last General Election we’ve cut our spend on consultants by over 80 per cent. Our Civil Service reform programme is focused on ensuring we have the best possible workforce delivering the best for Britain.

The graduates from our new Leadership Academy are responsible for projects that affect every one of us – from the energy that keeps the lights on to the transport that keeps us moving.

Delivered effectively, major projects can bring big rewards. The public get the services and infrastructure they deserve, at a cost that’s good for the taxpayer, and in a way that best supports UK business. It’s essential we get this right and Oxford can be very proud of the Major Projects Leadership Academy and its work to shape the future of our country.