The Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee urges the Government to clarify its “ill defined” overarching aims for major infrastructure spending and publish the National Infrastructure Strategy as soon as possible, “before a penny is spent on new projects”.

“Developing grand infrastructure projects must not become an end in itself,” said committee chair William Wragg. “We must move away from the short term view that measures the value of major projects in terms of whether they are finished on time and at the expected cost.”

He added: “As the nation embarks on a period of significant infrastructure spending we must focus on how much they deliver the benefits they set out to achieve.”

Government’s Major Project Portfolio currently comprises 125 projects worth a combined £448Bn, including transport infrastructure schemes such as High Speed 2, Heathrow expansion, East West Rail and the Lower Thames Crossing.

However the report says Government must do more to demonstrate how the committed infrastructure investment will deliver long term benefits both locally and nationally. It adds that the principal factor in judging the success of a project must be how much it realises its stated benefits, rather than whether it has been delivered on time or to budget.

Mechanisms should be put in place that enable greater scrutiny of project performance in the long term, the committee recommends.

The report also emphasises the need for greater transparency on projects. Too often, it says, projects have “shown little sign of difficulty through their reported data during implementation yet still fail to deliver the intended results”.

“We must also see improvement in how projects are developed at a local level,” said William Wragg. “It will be critical not just to get local support for infrastructure projects, but getting local input in identifying problems and developing solutions must be better supported and become a feature of programme development at a much earlier stage.”

This recommendation was welcomed by the Local Government Association. Its planning spokesman David Renard said: “The committee is absolutely right to say the Government’s infrastructure projects need to be more responsive to local need, with local support and local input.

“To do this the Government should engage with councils on projects at the earliest stage, to ensure the voice of local communities is heard.”

Also responding to the report, Association of Project Management head of external affairs David Thomson said it is “vital” not to lose sight of the need to properly plan for infrastructure investment and major projects.

“Any surge in new projects must be matched by the capability to deliver them well and with the public good in mind,” he added. “We have to ensure the delivery of these projects factor in rapid changes in technological innovation and Government targets to deliver net zero carbon emissions. A robust National Infrastructure Strategy will be crucial for achieving this.”