Departments, with the support of the Office of Science and Technology, have been modernising the way they procure research, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. He made a number of recommendations to continue that process. The recommendations arise from a report compiled on behalf of the National […]
Following reforms to decision-making and the appeal process in social security benefits, introduced in 1999 by the Department for Work and Pensions, the number of appeals against decisions has fallen overall by around 15 per cent and waiting times for appeal hearings have been cut. Since the reforms, decision-making performance for some benefits, but not […]
Mistakes in the original procurement and contract management of an IT system, designed to extract data from GP practices, contributed to losses of public funds, through asset write-offs and settlements with suppliers.
This article is taken from pages 14-15 of the NAO report Agricultural fraud: The case of Joseph Bowden – published February 2002 – and summarises the recommendations from this report.
This report examines the extent to which gambling regulation protects people from gambling‑related harms and addresses emerging risks.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Department for Work and Pensions provides an effective range of support that helps thousands of disabled people find employment each year. However more needs to be done to increase the number of people assisted into work and to help many of those […]
A plan by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to reduce complexity and administrative burdens in the further education and skills sector, despite improving some processes, has had only limited impact on providers’ costs.
The NAO has prepared this briefing for the Justice Select Committee in support of its inquiry into women offenders. The briefing looks specifically at the new funding arrangements for women’s centres in the community, which have been funded partly by the Ministry of Justice, the National Offender Management Service, and partly by probation trusts since 2009.
A factual overview of funding provided to the Coventry City of Culture Trust, which became insolvent in March 2023.
There is wide variation in the extent to which £79 billion in central funding allocated to local health bodies differs from target allocations that are based on relative need.
• This is NAO’s first report on funding since the 2013 health reforms took effect. Where possible comparisons have been made with funding under the previous system set out in a 2011 NAO report.
As the funding and provision of transport decentralises, this report gives an overview of the landscape and highlights issues and risks.
While the impact of the Pupil Premium will take time to become clear, it has the potential to bring about a significant improvement in outcomes. However, the Department for Education and schools have more to do.
It has not yet been demonstrated that funding mechanisms for supporting local economic growth are capable of delivering value for money.
The exact scale of fraud within government is unknown. The quality and completeness of fraud data is often variable.