Any chance that they might just admit, one day, that the things that were and are not very pointy things have been underfunded for decades. And that those investment decisions were mostly made by promoted former operators of said pointy things.
Oh, and perhaps there was an interest in Whitehall of agreeing with chancellors various to keep British Waste of Space in business and thus guaranteeing promotion in the Building and future employment after retirement elsewhere?
Oops - written in the early hours - but I hope people get my gist!