GPs could prescribe lower cost clinically effective medicines without affecting patient care, according to Parliament’s spending watchdog. And this could save primary care trusts (PCTs) more than £200 million a year. Today’s report by the National Audit Office also points out that unused or wasted drugs could cost the NHS at least £100 million a […]
Five years after its creation the Financial Services Authority, the independent body regulating the financial services industry in the UK, is a well-established regulator with an impressive set of processes and structures to help tackle high-risk organisations and markets. It now needs to streamline and fully integrate these processes and structures, and increase its focus […]
Making forms and guidance easier to obtain and understand should help to reduce the unintentional errors by taxpayers and result in more accurate tax assessments. A report from the National Audit Office today proposes improvements which build on changes already introduced by HM Revenue & Customs. Taxpayers can obtain forms and guidance from HM Revenue […]
The majority of government departments and agencies are failing to meet targets to make their new buildings and major refurbishments sustainable, according to a report published today by the National Audit Office. As a result, value for money may be lost from the £3billion which departments and agencies spend each year on this activity. A […]
Under the new NHS consultants’ contract, consultants in England are earning on average 25 per cent more than three years ago but are working the same number of hours or less. Whilst the contract has the potential to improve management of consultant time it has yet to deliver the full value for money to the […]
The Ministry of Defence has introduced positive changes to how it manages its estate and has invested substantial resources to maintain and improve it. The MoD, however, accepts that it has more work to do to provide a sustainable estate of the right quality, the National Audit Office has today reported to Parliament. The MoD […]
The Heritage Lottery Fund has successfully supported projects which help preserve the UK’s heritage and make it more accessible, according to a new report published today by the National Audit Office. The NAO report examines the funding of heritage projects since 1994 and the effectiveness of the Fund’s grant-making processes. In awarding £3.8 billion of […]
Building and improving the country’s roads are proving to be more expensive than originally estimated, according to a new report published today by the National Audit Office. The report looks at the Highways Agency’s investment in motorways and major trunk roads and local authority major roads schemes funded by the Department for Transport. The Department […]
The Department for International Development’s aid programmes have helped the rural poor in developing countries. But poverty in rural areas must be substantially reduced if DFID is to meet its targets, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. More than 1.1 billion people worldwide are living in extreme poverty. Around 75 […]
The Regional Development Agencies Advantage West Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward are all performing strongly, according to an independent assessment conducted by the National Audit Office. The National Audit Office has been examining the performance of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and making assessments of performance in five areas: ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance […]
The Regional Development Agencies Advantage West Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward are all performing strongly, according to an independent assessment conducted by the National Audit Office. The National Audit Office has been examining the performance of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and making assessments of performance in five areas: ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance […]
The Regional Development Agencies Advantage West Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency and Yorkshire Forward are all performing strongly, according to an independent assessment conducted by the National Audit Office. The National Audit Office has been examining the performance of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and making assessments of performance in five areas: ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance […]
The NAO has concluded in a new report published today that the tendering process for PFI projects needs improvement. During 2004-2006, PFI projects took an average of almost three years (34 months) to tender. Although there was substantial variation between sectors with schools, in particular, taking significantly less time to close deals (25 months), the […]
Too many family breakdown cases are going to court rather than being settled through mediation, the National Audit Office has today reported. Family breakdown cases which are resolved through professional mediation are cheaper and quicker to settle. And academic research shows that they secure better outcomes, particularly for children, as they are less acrimonious. However, […]
The Combating Fraud Position Statement covers client fraud identified in the course of financial audit and value for money examinations and links to our already well established approach towards money laundering.
The Shareholder Executive has improved government’s performance as owner of public businesses and is already producing some real financial gains for the public sector, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. But increasing the Executive’s powers, such as expanding its remit to cover all public sector businesses and giving it greater […]