Government does not know how many people in prison have a mental illness, how much it is spending on mental health in prisons or whether it is achieving its objectives. It is therefore hard to see how Government can be achieving value for money in its efforts to improve the mental health and well being of prisoners. In 2016 there were 40,161 incidents of self-harm in prisons and 120 self-inflicted deaths.
Many of the long standing problems in providing offenders with effective and useful learning and skills training have yet to be overcome following the establishment of the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS). Offenders who find employment upon their release are less likely to reoffend, which is why improving their training and skills could contribute […]
Despite a small improvement in the quality of the data systems used by government departments to monitor their progress against their Public Service Agreements (PSAs), there are still many areas for improvement – with 11 per cent of systems rated red, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Good quality data systems enable […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament developments in performance measurement intended to support the achievement of Government aims and objectives. For each Department, key objectives and associated performance targets feature in a Public Service Agreement, which underlies the resources allocated in spending reviews. These arrangements put the United […]
This report examines if government is achieving its ambition for the public sector to be a leader in decarbonising its activities.
It will be difficult for government departments to achieve value for money from means-tested benefits unless government understands the impacts of means testing, learns from past experience and improves coordination between different benefits.
The NAO’s assessment of the maturity of process management in central government identifies areas of strength and opportunities to improve.
Most women have good outcomes from NHS maternity services, but there are significant and unexplained variations in performance around the country.
This series of papers summarises the methodological approaches we have taken in carrying out innovative or novel analysis. Such analysis is conducted under our statutory authority to examine and report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which government departments and other bodies have used their resources.
The Audit insights papers are methodological summaries and do not make new observations about value for money.
The welfare cap is encouraging a greater understanding of spending on some benefits and tax credits across government, but it is important that processes for managing the cap are reliable.
Although new organisations set up as part of the reformed health system were ready to start functioning on time, the transition to the system is not yet complete.
There are shortcomings in how the supply of NHS clinical staff in England is managed, in terms of both planning the future workforce and meeting the current demand for staff.
Older ICT systems critical for the delivery of key public services (‘legacy ICT’) expose departments to risks which must be understood and managed.