Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today published his report to Parliament on the results of his examination of the Public Health Laboratory Service Board Accounts for 1998-99. Sir John issued a report to Parliament on the account concerning the breakdown of financial controls following the contracting out by the Board of […]
Public Health England has made a good start in supporting local authorities with their new responsibilities for public health but it is too soon to tell whether its approach is achieving value for money.
Since its creation in 2001, the Public Guardianship Office has improved the quality of information it receives on the stewardship of the financial affairs of people who lose mental capacity. It has begun to target its scrutiny, reducing the regulatory burden on some receivers deemed to be a lower risk, and in some cases where […]
Evidence from 12 large national charities shows that their delivery of public services could be undermined and limited by the complexity of the arrangements by which they receive public funding. Today’s report by the National Audit Office found that charities’ funding relationships with public bodies, including central government departments, local authorities and health trusts can […]
Public electric vehicle chargepoint installations are on track, but government needs to make sure they are located in the right places.
In 2007, the five UK audit agencies jointly launched a set of indicators for each of five corporate service activities – estates management, finance, human resources, ICT, and procurement. Two further services were subsequently added – communications and legal.
The project to replace the UK’s ageing Anti Air Warfare capability, which is currently provided by the Type 42 destroyer, has suffered significant delays of over two years and costs have escalated to some £6½ billion, up by nearly 30 per cent from initial estimates of £5 billion. More recently, the project has progressed well, […]
Assessing the risk posed by offenders is difficult. Parole Board members rely on the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison Service and the probation service to provide the necessary information for them to make an informed decision. Determinate sentenced prisoners, though, are having their hearings on time and the Board is reducing the backlog of cases […]
Protecting information while re-designing public services and introducing the technology necessary to support them is an increasingly complex challenge.
The Cabinet Office has not yet established a clear role for itself in coordinating and leading departments’ efforts to protect their information, according to the National Audit Office. Today’s report found that its ambition to undertake such a role is weakened by the limited information which departments collect on their security costs, performance and risks. […]
England and Wales have a good record in containing and eradicating major outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a key role to play in maintaining this good record but there are several ways in which it […]
By being able to switch suppliers, customers have put competitive pressures on telecom, electricity, gas, and postal providers following the removal of pricing controls. Around half of energy and fixed line telecoms customers have switched supplier and 90 per cent of people doing so found it easy. There have been problems, however, particularly for more […]
This report examines the extent to which the UK’s product safety regime protects consumers from harm, focusing on the OPSS.
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.
Unfair treatment of consumers, ranging from pressure selling to systematic scams by criminals, is costing billions of pounds each year – but the system for enforcing consumer law is not delivering value for money.
This report looks at how effectively government met the needs of clinically extremely vulnerable through the shielding programme.