Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had sold the British Ambassador’s official Residence on the Glencairn estate in Dublin and spent £6.4 million on purchasing Marlay Grange as a replacement. Having spent a further £0.7 million on refurbishing the property it then decided […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that VisitBritain’s overseas marketing activities are well planned and executed, and that they achieve high returns. However his report called on VisitBritain to adjust the balance of its activities further in favour of brand building work in emerging markets. VisitBritain’s main performance […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that in the last year, costs on the MOD’s 20 biggest equipment projects have increased by £1.7 billion and that these projects have been delayed by three months each on average. The problems on these projects show that the sensible principles of Smart Acquisition […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on progress made by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to improve the procurement of information technology (IT) systems by departments and agencies. He concluded that OGC has put structures in place to minimize the risk of future IT failure and that department and […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that good progress has been made by departments to improve their risk management capacity since his previous report in August 2000, although departments have further to go to demonstrate that they have made effective risk management a central part of their day […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today published a report on the Inland Revenue’s accounts for the year 2003-04. Sir John confirmed that overall the Inland Revenue continued to secure an effective check over the assessment, collection and allocation of tax during the year. However, he has qualified his opinion in respect of Tax […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that Energywatch and Postwatch have achieved benefits for consumers but they need to do more to show the extent of these benefits. Over their first three years, Energywatch and Postwatch have successfully established their organisations, developed efficient systems to handle customer complaints and […]
NHS trusts have achieved a large and sustained reduction in the length of time patients spend in accident and emergency (A&E) departments, largely through improved working practices. This reduction has followed a strongly increased focus, since 2002, by the Department of Health on trusts ensuring that patients spend no more than four hours in A&E. […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on programmes run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help English farm businesses adapt to changing markets and reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Farmers in the United Kingdom currently receive nearly £3 billion a year in subsidies […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that good progress has been made in recent years in increasing the overall employment rate for older people. The gap between the proportion of older people in work compared to the general working population has also narrowed by 1 per cent over […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the British Library is responding well to the opportunities and challenges of providing services in the electronic era, that the Library has undergone significant and beneficial organisational change, and that it has made important recent improvements to the services that it offers […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, today welcomed Ofgem’s efforts to help vulnerable consumers, such as the elderly or those on benefits. He encouraged Ofgem and the energy suppliers to build on the Social Action Plan to allow more vulnerable consumers to take advantage of the competitive energy market. He also reported […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has qualified his opinion on the Child Support Agency’s account for the tenth year running because of high levels of error in the amounts considered as recoverable from non-resident parents. At the 31 March 2004, £976 million was due to be collected by the Agency from […]
There is scope to reduce the balances held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund, which stood at 2.7 billion in March 2004, according to a report published today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office. But significant reductions could take time and lottery distributors face a range of uncertainties and risks in […]
There has been notable progress at trust level in putting systems and processes in place and strengthening infection control teams to improve the prevention and control of hospital acquired infection, but the NHS still does not have enough information on the extent and cost of hospital acquired infection. These are the principal findings of a […]
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate and the Immigration Appellate Authority have increased the speed of the asylum decision-making process but further improvements can be made, with consequent savings in support and accommodation costs The Immigration and Nationality Directorate also needs to make further improvements to the quality of decision-making, according to a report to Parliament by the […]
The Department for International Development responds to the international HIV/AIDS epidemic on a wide number of fronts, and has increased its expenditure in this area in recent years. It has also recently announced an intensified effort to address the epidemic, one of the major threats to international development goals. A National Audit Office report has […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office reported today on the entry clearance operation run by UKvisas at British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates around the world. It is government policy to facilitate the entry of those qualifying for visas as quickly and simply as possible, while turning away unqualified applicants. UKvisas faces […]