We found that a number of barriers to effective accountability exist. The Good Practice guide identifies ways that central government organisations have overcome these barriers and will be of interest to both executives and non-executives.
Disclosure guides are designed to ensure that audited bodies have prepared an account in the appropriate form and have complied with all disclosure requirements.
This paper is the result of research undertaken in June 2009 in response to a House of Commons Defence Select Committee request that the NAO identify the views of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) about the Government’s Comprehensive Approach.
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 […]
The National Audit Office has today published independent reviews of value for money savings reported by the Department for Transport and the Home Office as part of their 2008-09 Annual Reports. The Department for Transport reported savings of £892 million, of which the NAO found that 43 per cent fairly represent realised cash savings, 22 […]
The current defence programme is unaffordable, according to a report from the National Audit Office. The Ministry of Defence has already reduced the deficit between the defence budget and planned expenditure by £15 billion, but a shortfall of between £6 billion and £36 billion remains. The financial crisis means a substantial increase in funding is […]
Venture capital funds injected by government into young companies can provide benefit to them, allowing them to raise finance not available through conventional means and to grow. But so far the funds have not been managed as a programme and lack a robust framework of objectives to measure performance, according to a report published by […]
The National Audit Office has concluded that the public support provided to UK banks by the Treasury was justified, given the scale of the economic and social costs if one or more major banks had collapsed. In providing that support, moreover, the Treasury met two of the government’s principal objectives: protecting depositors’ money in banks and […]
By transferring ownership or leases of around 60 per cent of its estate (591 properties) to a private contractor, Mapeley, in 2001, the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise planned to reduce their running costs and had the opportunity to save up to £1.2 billion by reducing the size of the estate. However, in […]
This report sets out good practice in developing a performance framework, reporting performance information, and ensuring performance information is used. Based on a survey and case studies, the report includes a model that organisations can apply to evaluate the maturity of their own performance system.
The National Audit Office has today reported to Parliament that there are risks to value for money from the way the Legal Services Commission (the LSC) administers and procures legal aid for criminal cases. In 2008-09, the Commission spent more than £1.1 billion on criminal legal aid – legal assistance for people suspected of or […]
The delivery of the Government’s programme to control chlamydia infection in young people to date has not demonstrated value for money, a report by the National Audit Office found today. The Department of Health implemented the Programme in three phases. In 2008-09, six years after the Programme’s launch, testing levels were only just beginning to […]
The National Audit Office has warned that the value for money of 43 major government projects worth around £200 billion is at risk because of significant weaknesses in the Government’s commercial skills and expertise. But there is an even greater risk to many other complex projects where skills shortages are not being assessed systematically. The […]
This paper has been prepared for the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee to support their inquiry on Private Finance.
The Department for International Development’s programme in Malawi has contributed to poverty reduction, improved health outcomes, larger harvests and more effective governance in the country, according to a report by the National Audit Office. It is difficult, however, to gauge how much of this progress can be attributed directly to DFID’s aid. Progress has been […]