There is little evidence that government’s commitment to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within 5 working days is having the intended effect of helping the UK’s 5 million small and medium-sized enterprises.
Under the new NHS consultants’ contract, consultants in England are earning on average 25 per cent more than three years ago but are working the same number of hours or less. Whilst the contract has the potential to improve management of consultant time it has yet to deliver the full value for money to the […]
The Department of Health has made progress towards its target that, by December 2005, each NHS patient referred by a GP for non-emergency hospital treatment will be offered a choice of four or five healthcare providers. However, according to the National Audit Office, there remain significant risks for the Department to manage, especially that of […]
The government’s reform programme to improve attainment and participation in education and training for 14 to 19 year olds has wide support at local level, including for the new Diplomas, which seek to blend general education with applied learning. The National Audit Office has today reported that the reform programme has met its key milestones […]
The Department for Children, Schools and Families is achieving its aim of promoting partnering in secondary education in England, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. Some 87 per cent of schools work with other schools and organisations on improving attainment and behaviour – and headteachers are clear that partnering is delivering […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the administration of parole in England and Wales. Ensuring that prisoners’ applications for parole are considered in a timely manner requires close co-operation between organisations including the Prison Service, the Parole Board, the Probation Service and the police. Delays can result […]
We report on our investigation arising from the findings of Internal Audit for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman regarding the management of conflicts of interest in procuring services during a fundamental change programme.
This report looks at the Restoration and Renewal Programme to identify potential risks and recommend how these may be addressed.
PaceSetter has led to productivity improvements and may have contributed to greater staff engagement. However, the extent to which overall efficiency has improved is not clear; and some key principles of process improvement are not yet being applied strategically across the entire organisation.
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 NAO is publishing a suite of Departmental Overviews, one for each government department and a selection of cross-government issues, to assist House of Commons Select Committees and Members of Parliament.
This report provides a summary of the UK government’s response to COVID-19 to date.
This briefing on Ofgem, a non-ministerial government department, is similar to the briefings we are producing on the 15 major government departments. It is produced primarily as a briefing for the Environment and Climate Change Committee, and is based on Ofgem’s annual report and accounts and our own work relevant to Ofgem.
Shortcomings must be addressed if value for money is to be secured in the future for users of social care “personal budgets” once they are extended to all eligible users by April 2013.
All three projects examined by the NAO have experienced significant delays stemming from a range of problems.
Despite providing substantially increased funding for PIDG (up to £700 million by 2015), the Department has not exercised enough oversight to ensure value for money has been achieved.
Course outcomes for young people aged 16-25 receiving special educational support are improving. However, a lack of understanding of the relationship between needs, costs and outcomes can lead to students not getting the right support, and risks compromising value for money.
Financial pressures are growing on local authority maintained schools and the capacity of local authorities to support financial management in schools is itself under pressure. The Department for Education needs a system for alerting it to problems requiring intervention.
With the number of further education (FE) colleges in financial difficulty expected to rise rapidly, there are fundamental structural problems which might require decisions at a regional or sector-wide level.