In late 2008, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills stepped in to offer targeted support to struggling, but viable, businesses in the face of a severe economic downturn. It reacted quickly and prioritized a fast response over perfecting its policies. Under the circumstances, this approach was appropriate, according to a report published today by […]
BIS needs more coherent planning, rather than short-term fire fighting, to meet its spending review challenges and deliver better value for money.
The C&AG has reported on the 2019-20 accounts of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The C&AG has reported on the 2020-21 accounts of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, has qualified his audit opinion on DBT’s 2023-24 financial statements.
This memorandum has been prepared to support the Health and Social Care Committee’s Dentistry Services inquiry.
This report examines government’s implementation of COVID-19 employment support schemes.
The Department for Education should set out the planned overall impact of the programme on productivity and growth.
The Department for Education has made progress against many of its objectives in delivering the free entitlement to early education, but it must address variations in take-up, quality of provision and the impact on attainment in later years if it is to achieve value for money.
The MoD has developed a strategy that identifies the estate it needs and the 25% of its estate it can dispose of by 2040. However, the strategy and current funding levels allow only for a partial reversal of the decline in the condition of the remaining estate. There is a significant risk that the poor condition of the estate will affect the Department’s ability to provide the defence capability needed.
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today that there has been progress in capturing for the nation more of the economic and social benefits of scientific research funded by the taxpayer. Commercialisation can range from making research outputs available to all, free of charge, to forming companies to develop innovative […]
Improvements and efficiencies have been made in key areas of cancer care since the Cancer Reform Strategy was published. However, a lack of high quality information on costs of cancer services and their outcomes inhibits substantial further improvements.
The successful introduction of IT systems is a crucial element in major Government programmes to deliver better services to the public -whether through providing new services, making existing services more efficient and responsive to citizens’ needs, or improving organisational performance. A report published today by the National Audit Office identifies common threads in IT-enabled programmes […]
Government efforts to improve the quality and take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills have yielded some positive results but there remains an urgent need for departments to set out a shared view of what they are trying to achieve and a co-ordinated plan for achieving it.
The Better Regulation Executive and government departments are not yet in a position to achieve value for money in their management of regulation. However, they have developed important elements of a structured approach to achieving sustainable reductions in regulatory costs and have delivered significant benefits.
Responding to an increasingly diverse society is essential if public services are to meet their full potential, Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today. This report – the first of its kind by the NAO – looks across Whitehall at the way in which government bodies are taking steps to better […]
Government is committed to conducting formal impact assessments of the need for and likely impact of new regulations. A National Audit Office report has found that scrutiny of proposed legislation is strengthening and that the standard is better than it was, but one fifth of assessments still did not include any quantified data to assess […]
Few national targets for improving public services can be achieved by central government departments alone. Successful delivery of Whitehall’s targets, set out in Public Service Agreements (PSAs), relies on a complex chain of organisations involving local authorities and health trusts, as well as private, voluntary and community organisations. Government departments should build stronger partnerships with […]
The Department has made good progress since we last reported on Carrier Strike, however it still has a lot to do to meet its targets at the end of 2020.