Newly registered businesses are more likely than established businesses to get their tax affairs wrong, but if they are helped to get it right first time they are likely to continue to comply in the future. A report from the National Audit Office today puts forward a series of recommendations to encourage improved compliance by […]
Jobcentre Plus personal advisers provide an effective and highly valued service in helping people looking for work. There are over 9,000 personal advisers who conducted 10.8 million interviews last year with people looking for work. The feedback from those they help is positive and suggests they are an effective method of support in helping people […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that he had given an unqualified opinion on the 2005-06 Community Fund’s accounts. Last year, Sir John had qualified his opinion on the 2004-05 accounts on the grounds that the Fund’s systems did not include adequate checks to identify potential fraudulent applications. […]
An independent assessment of three Regional Development Agencies – One North East (ONE), South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) – has concluded that ONE and SEEDA are performing strongly and SWRDA is performing well. The assessments by the National Audit Office are based on five criteria: ambition, prioritisation, […]
An independent assessment of three Regional Development Agencies – One North East (ONE), South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) – has concluded that ONE and SEEDA are performing strongly and SWRDA is performing well. The assessments by the National Audit Office are based on five criteria: ambition, prioritisation, […]
An independent assessment of three Regional Development Agencies – One North East (ONE), South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) – has concluded that ONE and SEEDA are performing strongly and SWRDA is performing well. The assessments by the National Audit Office are based on five criteria: ambition, prioritisation, […]
The Strategic Rail Authority (and, subsequently, the Department for Transport) and Network Rail have successfully turned around the programme to modernise the West Coast Main Line. To date, Network Rail has delivered the new strategy for the line on time, achieving benefits for passengers, including shorter journey times and improved punctuality. Network Rail is likely […]
Press release issued by the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/11_november/21/value.shtml
The successful introduction of IT systems is a crucial element in major Government programmes to deliver better services to the public -whether through providing new services, making existing services more efficient and responsive to citizens’ needs, or improving organisational performance. A report published today by the National Audit Office identifies common threads in IT-enabled programmes […]
Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn has today reported to Parliament that he is qualifying his opinion on the accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is because of substantial levels of estimated losses from fraud and error in benefit payments and material uncertainties about the level of debt resulting […]
There is a shortfall of 5,170 (2.8 per cent) trained Armed Forces personnel against the Ministry of Defence’s estimated requirements. Only the Army is within “manning balance”, and there are wider shortages of personnel in specific trade groups. According to today’s report to Parliament, by head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn, there […]
The results of a survey of UK nationals who were affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami were released today by the National Audit Office. The work provides the most complete account yet about what people experienced, and how they felt about the response of UK agencies in providing support. The assistance provided was seen as […]
Each year the 384 further education colleges in England spend £1.6 billion on a range of goods and services from books and stationery to examination fees and energy bills. Some colleges recognise the benefits of introducing more efficient and effective processes, but many need to improve their processes substantially, and could contribute to plans to […]
Difficulties encountered by a government agency in making payments under the EU’s Single Payment Scheme have caused distress to a significant minority of farmers, cost farmers money in additional interest and bank charges, and undermined the farming industry’s confidence in the agency, according to a report published today. The study by the National Audit Office […]
This briefing is intended to assist the Public Administration Committee in considering options for work on the ‘third sector’ or voluntary and community sector.
There is a significant risk that local authorities in England will fail to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by enough for the UK to meet EU targets, according to a report by Parliament?s spending watchdog. The Government intends to penalise local authorities who fail to make their share of the required […]