The Department for Transport agreed to make a £30m grant towards construction of the Garden Bridge despite its concerns over value for money. The NAO’s review does not assess the value for money of the project as a whole.
Overall spending on discretionary local welfare support by central and local government has reduced since April 2013. The consequences of this gap in provision are not understood.
This page is part of our decision support tool. [Footnote 1] EU law on state aid derives from the Treaty of Rome and aims to prevent member states from unfairly distorting competition within the EU, except in certain permitted circumstances. Where a state intervention distorts competition, this will usually constitute state aid. The Treaty expressly […]
The National Audit Office has prepared this briefing for the Home Affairs Select Committee to support the Committee’s inquiry into the new landscape of policing.
Local authorities should work more collaboratively with voluntary and community organisations to help them improve the delivery of public services, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. The report looked at whether Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are helping to promote better value for money in the way government works with the […]
The Heritage Lottery Fund has successfully supported projects which help preserve the UK’s heritage and make it more accessible, according to a new report published today by the National Audit Office. The NAO report examines the funding of heritage projects since 1994 and the effectiveness of the Fund’s grant-making processes. In awarding £3.8 billion of […]
Whitehall initiatives to revive former coalfield communities have helped to make them more attractive places to live and work but many remain among the most deprived areas in England and opportunities to help train local people and promote local businesses have been missed, the NAO has today reported. The regeneration effort has three strands: the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that Home Office grants of £927 million to Police Basic Command Units, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales to fund crime reduction work have contributed in part to a 22 per cent reduction in the number of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the costs of the departure of Mr Derek Casey, the former Chief Executive of Sport England. In drawing Parliament’s attention to this matter Sir John has not qualified his audit opinion on either the Sport England grant-in-aid or lottery fund accounts […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Department for Work and Pensions provides an effective range of support that helps thousands of disabled people find employment each year. However more needs to be done to increase the number of people assisted into work and to help many of those […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the targets for visitor numbers and income required by the Millennium Dome were highly ambitious and inherently risky. They involved a significant degree of financial exposure on the project, which materialised when the targets were missed. Sir John was commenting on the […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that an examination of 15 major capital projects funded by Arts Council England shows that most are delivering the intended benefits in terms of, for example, the number of performances and productions, the level of visitors, and the quality of the new facilities. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the way in which the Arts Council of England manage the risks during the construction phase of major capital projects funded by the National Lottery. He found that the Arts Council have, from the outset, adopted a pro-active approach to monitoring […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that opportunities for film access and education provided by the Film Council’s £14.5 million grant to the bfi – such as seeing a film at the National Film Theatre, participating in educational events run by the bfi, or buying a bfi DVD or […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that single Community Programme funding is leading to greater involvement of deprived communities in influencing local decisions but more needs to be done to reach all sectors and groups. Thanks to simple and straightforward grant application procedures the Programme has been successful […]
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s decision to provide additional public funding for the English national stadium project at Wembley is an example of well managed risk taking, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office said today. The Department, working closely with Sport England, has thoroughly reviewed the project and taken appropriate […]