The C&AG has qualified his audit opinions on the Client Funds Accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions on the grounds of material errors in the calculations of child maintenance assessments.
The report examines the system protecting consumers from scams, unfair trading, and unsafe goods. BEIS has made progress since our 2011 review, but needs to do more, particularly in the context of the growth of e-commerce.
Last updated – 14 December 2016 Introduction The Citizens Advice Consumer Service (formerly known as Consumer Direct) is a national telephone helpline for people that need assistance with consumer problems or want to record a complaint. The service is provided to consumers in Great Britain by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. In 2015-16 the […]
The government’s approach to managing the risks to schools’ financial sustainability cannot be judged to be effective or providing value for money until more progress is made.
It is not possible to show that the Crown Commercial Service has achieved more than departments would otherwise have achieved by buying common goods and services themselves.
This publication presents the results of our census of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). The census was conducted as part of our report Local Enterprise Partnerships, published in March 2016.
The Department for International Development has improved its oversight of CDC and has directed it to address many of the weaknesses previously identified by Parliament. However, it remains a significant challenge for CDC to demonstrate its ultimate objective of creating and making a lasting difference to people’s lives in some of the world’s poorest places.
The financial performance of NHS bodies worsened considerably in 2015-16, according to the National Audit Office.
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.
This Overview looks at the local government landscape during the last financial year and summarises both matters of likely interest to Parliament as well as our work with local authorities. The NAO prepares statutory guidance on how local auditors should meet their responsibilities.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has for the second successive year qualified his opinion on the financial statements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
The cost of modernising the Great Western railway is estimated to be £5.58 billion, an increase of £2.1 billion since 2013, and there are delays to the electrification of the route of at least 18 to 36 months. The Department for Transport and Network Rail have begun to improve the management of the programme but they have more to do to protect value for money in the future.
The Department for Work and Pensions successfully managed the introduction of the new state pension, but it is not yet clear whether the simplified system will encourage people to save more for their retirement.
HMRC has a special unit to collect tax from high net worth individuals who are those with assets of £20m or more. While this special unit gives it a better understanding of the tax affairs and behaviours of these taxpayers it needs to evaluate what approaches are the most effective and to understand the outcome it achieves.
The amount recovered has increased but NHS hospital trusts remain some way from complying in full with the requirement to recover the cost of treating overseas visitors.
This investigation focuses on how the Department for Education identified and managed a potential conflict of interest between the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families and a company called Morning Lane Associates.
This an update on earlier reports by the NAO and Committee of Public Accounts on the progress of the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery Programme. It focuses primarily on the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments to English farmers and landowners and improvements to the process for the 2016 and future years.
This report is a factual update to support the Committee of Public Accounts’ evidence session on the government’s Troubled Families programme on 19 October 2016. It is based primarily on published sources, information supplied by the Department for Communities and Local Government and previous reports published by the National Audit Office.
The government has missed opportunities to exploit the full potential of the Levy Control Framework and this has contributed to decisions which have not secured value for money.
The Department for Education recognised since 2010 that child protection services are not good enough but its subsequent response has not yet resulted in better outcomes. Spending on children’s social work, including on child protection, varies widely across England and is not related to quality. Neither the DfE nor authorities understand why spending varies.