Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that many NHS trusts and orthopaedic consultants apply good practice in the way that they handle total hip replacements. However, there are significant variations in performance, and there is need for good practice to be spread more widely for the benefit of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’s productivity and processes compared well when benchmarked against three private sector insurance companies. The examination highlighted opportunities for the Authority to make improvements, and the report sets out 23 recommendations aimed at enhancing the quality of service provided […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) have made improvements to their regulation of the stewardship by Railtrack plc of the national railway network, but that much still needs to be done to provide a fully effective regulatory regime for the future. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today told Parliament that 122 (82 per cent) of the 150 National Lottery Charities Board funded projects examined by the National Audit Office were progressing as planned. These projects bring real improvements to the lives of disadvantaged people. For example, one project in Edinburgh has provided […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the work of HM Customs and Excise in collecting gambling duties. Sir John reported that the Department collected £1,530 million in gambling duties in 1998-99, some 22 per cent of the £7 billion spent on gambling in the United Kingdom. The […]
The Inland Revenue’s strategic partnership with Electronic Data Systems Limited (EDS) has been successful in helping the Department deliver significant changes in taxation policy to demanding timetables, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. The Department and EDS run the contract as a partnership, recognising the need for both […]
The Ministry of Defence achieved a good price when they awarded the contract for a new Defence Fixed Telecommunication System to BT in 1997, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. The ten year contract let under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is expected to cost £612 million with a […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has reported to Parliament on the outcome of financial audit work undertaken in central government by his staff over the past year. Sir John qualified his audit opinion on 13 accounts and reported on a further 13. Sir John examines the progress made by Government departments and […]
A 10 year failure to update pensions leaflets correctly has caused considerable distress to many thousands of people, and will cost the taxpayer at least £2.5 billion, and probably considerably more, according to two reports to Parliament published today. The two reports* – one by Sir John Bourn, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the problems in the administration of the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme in England which led to the European Commission refusing to reimburse £27 million in respect of payments to farmers in England for 1993 to 1996. The report examines how the […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, issued a report today on good practice in performance reporting by Executive Agencies and Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies. His report is designed to assist agencies to improve further their performance reporting by setting out suggestions based on their own good practice in collecting and reporting performance […]
Scottish Enterprise’s Skillseekers programme had made considerable progress in delivering Vocational Qualifications for young people at reducing unit cost. There are, however, a number of ways that Scottish Enterprise and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) can build on their successes, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to the Scottish Parliament today. Skillseekers […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that many NHS hospitals have made important improvements in the way they admit and discharge patients, and manage their bed stock. But there are significant variations in performance, and some trusts could do more to reduce the number of cancelled operations and […]
Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, today presented to Parliament his reports on the purchase, refurbishment and fitting out of buildings for the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service. These Reports were produced in 1992 and 1995 as classified reports to Parliament and in accordance with the then arrangements for […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that hospital acquired infections can have serious consequences for patients, may be costing the NHS in the region of £1,000 million a year but could be reduced by around 15 per cent across the NHS. The report is a comprehensive analysis of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today told Parliament that the Ministry of Defence (the Department) is introducing “Smart Acceptance”* procedures, which should, if applied with rigour, address weaknesses in existing processes for accepting equipment which have occasionally cost one or all of time, money and capability. For example, the report identifies […]
The Scottish Executive and other Scottish public bodies have responded positively to a range of recommendations arising from value for money work on Scottish matters in the last two years, Sir John Bourn head of the National Audit Office reported to the Scottish Parliament today. Sir John’s report brings together the results of seven previously […]
The Government has set challenging targets for public services to be delivered to citizens electronically as part of the wider Modernising Government agenda. The Prime Minister pledged that by 2002 a quarter of all transactions between citizens and government should be capable of being conducted ‘electronically’, rising to 50% by 2005 and 100% by 2008. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the extent to which the Highways Agency has obtained best value for the taxpayer on the disposal of property acquired in connection with road construction. Since the Agency was created in 1994, it has raised £238 million (at 1999 prices) from […]