The public sector should plan more carefully how it disposes of its growing volume of personal computers and associated equipment, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. The efficient, legal and socially responsible disposal of such equipment is an increasingly important issue for the public sector. Many public bodies have limited […]
The Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) use of budget support is helping developing country governments to build their capacity and expand basic services. But, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office, evidence on whether budget support has yielded better value for money than other forms of aid is not conclusive. While […]
Four out of five students starting a full-time course in England are expected to complete their course, the NAO reported today. The United Kingdom’s performance on retention compares favourably with most other OECD countries, during a period of expansion in higher education. In a new report to Parliament, published as students await their A level […]
Nearly 100,000 new childcare places have been created for pre-school children since 1998 and the Government is on course to meet its targets for the provision of free part-time early education for three- and four-year-olds. But Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that more needs to be done to ensure […]
Sure Start Children’s Centres are valued by most of the families who use them, according to the National Audit Office. The families reached by children’s centres are some of the most disadvantaged, though the early signs are that more still needs to be done to reach and support some of the most excluded groups. The […]
Sure Start children’s centres – Memorandum for the Children, Schools and Families Committee
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn today reported on the Connexions Service, concluding that it is a radical change in the delivery of advice and guidance to young people and is on target to meeting its major objective of reducing the proportion of 16- to 18-year olds not in education, employment or […]
Without clearer leadership from Departments there is a risk that the Government’s target to halt the rise in obesity in children under 11 will not be met. This is a key finding of a joint report published today by the Audit Commission, the Healthcare Commission and the National Audit Office. The report investigates the strength […]
More employers in England need to be persuaded of the value to their businesses of employment-related education and skills training, according to the National Audit Office. Today’s report to Parliament recommends that the ways in which employers get advice and information be simplified; that the emphasis should be on flexible and affordable training that employers […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Department for Education and Skills has made a good start to its long-term strategy to improve the levels of adult literacy and numeracy in England, but there are more challenges ahead. While the Skills for Life Strategy has met its 2004 target, […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the prevalence of obesity in England had tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Producing the first authoritative estimates of the costs and consequences of obesity […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that the Youth Justice Board, established in September 1998, has successfully developed and introduced a range of new non-custodial sentences and programmes for young offenders. There is scope, however, for the Board to improve forecasting of custodial numbers, deciding of placements and […]
The Department for International Development lead the United Kingdom’s commitment to the elimination of world poverty and are a key player in the international development community seeking to reduce by half by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. Currently, over 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day. The Department’s […]
This special Innovation edition of NAO Focus highlights the findings from a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, “Achieving innovation in central government organisations” (NAO, 2006), which was carried out by the London School of Economics Public Policy Group.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament that properly planned and managed risk taking by government departments can promote innovation and lead to improved value for money for taxpayers. Departments are increasingly considering how best to devise and implement effective risk management strategies. By September 2000, all departments must […]
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. […]