Showing 1681 - 1700 of 2706 results

  2. Improving the use of temporary nursing staff in NHS acute and foundation trusts

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The National Audit Office has found that while the NHS has successfully reduced its expenditure on agency nursing staff, temporary staff remain a key component of trusts’ ability to be flexible and expenditure on temporary nursing staff employed through nursing banks and NHS Professionals has increased. Many NHS trusts do not have robust information to […]

  3. HM Revenue & Customs 2005-06 Accounts: The Comptroller and Auditor General’s Standard Report

    Report Financial audit

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today published a report on HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) accounts for the year 2005-2006. HMRC collected total revenue of some £404 billion. For the fourth year running, Sir John has qualified his opinion on the Trust Statement in respect of tax credits because of the likely level […]

  4. DFID: working with non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations to promote development

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The Department for International Development works well with civil society organisations (CSOs) to help some of the world’s poorest people, according to today’s National Audit Office report. But the department needs better information on the effectiveness of CSOs in developing countries, and on the impact of its assistance, if it is to ensure aid is […]

  5. The creation of Ofcom: wider lessons for public sector mergers of regulatory agencies

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The creation of Ofcom, the Office of Communications, was a major challenge, demanding decisive leadership and well structured project management. There were, however, no clear measures put in place at the outset to monitor whether the merger was a success. Although data is limited, the NAO has carried out a preliminary assessment which indicates that […]

  6. Child Support Agency – implementation of the child support reforms

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The Child Support Reforms introduced in 2003 were a final but, in the event, unsuccessful attempt to deliver the policy behind the creation of the Child Support Agency in 1993. With hindsight the Child Support Agency was never structured in a way that would enable the policy to be delivered cost-effectively. While the Reforms have […]

  7. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact Assessments 2005-06

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) are often not used in the right way, according to a report published today by the National Audit Office. The report finds that the purpose of RIAs is not always understood, there is a lack of clarity in the presentation of the analysis and persistent weaknesses in the assessments. As a […]

  9. Department of Health: The National Programme for IT in the NHS

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The National Audit Office reported to Parliament today the results of its examination of the National Programme for IT in the NHS. The Programme’s scope, vision and complexity are wider and more extensive than any ongoing or planned healthcare IT programme in the world and it represents the largest single IT investment in the UK […]

  10. North West Development Agency. Independent Performance Assessment

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The National Audit Office today published its first two Independent Performance Assessments of Regional Development Agencies, covering the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) respectively. In this first round of assessments, the NWDA scored 20 points out of a possible 24 which is equivalent to performing strongly. The […]

  11. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Countryside Agency – The right of access to open countryside

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The right to roam was successfully introduced two months ahead of target, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Information on how to use this new right is generally good, although there are lessons to be learned on estimating and managing costs, with expenditure on the scheme almost double the original estimate. But, […]

  12. East of England Development Agency. Independent Performance Assessment

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The National Audit Office today published its first two Independent Performance Assessments of Regional Development Agencies, covering the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) respectively. In this first round of assessments, the NWDA scored 20 points out of a possible 24 which is equivalent to performing strongly. The […]

  14. Financial management in the NHS – NHS Summarised Accounts 2004-2005

    Report Financial audit

    Published on:

    There was a deficit across the NHS as a whole in 2004-05 for the first time since 1999-00. Latest figures also show the deficit has worsened for 2005-06. Compared to 2003-04, the number of NHS bodies with deficits increased, and more of these deficits were significant in size, according to Financial Management in the NHS, […]

  15. VAT on e-commerce

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The National Audit Office has today backed HM Revenue and Customs’ assessment that the overall risk to VAT revenue from on-line shopping, or e-commerce, is currently low. The Department has been alert to specific areas of risk which have emerged and is well-positioned to tackle these. As activity increases in this fast changing environment, it […]

  16. Department for Constitutional Affairs: Fines Collection

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Fines are the most common sentence imposed by magistrates’ courts but many offenders are still either unwilling or unable to pay, with the result that Her Majesty’s Courts Service has to take enforcement action against most offenders. Too many offenders leave court without paying their fines in full and too many court hearings are wasted […]

  17. Supporting Small Business

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Central Government spends over £2.6 billion a year supporting small business. The Small Business Service (SBS) is responsible for leading Government actions for small business primarily through leading on a Government Action Plan. The SBS has delivered some successful projects itself, but to date it does not have measures to establish its overall impact, or […]

  18. Department of Health – The Paddington Health Campus scheme

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the cancellation of the Paddington Health Campus scheme in June 2005 at a cost of £15 million. The scheme was a complex and ambitious attempt to build a world-class healthcare facility and ultimately proved to be beyond the capacity of […]

  19. The Termination of the PFI Contract for the National Physical Laboratory

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    The Department for Trade and Industry successfully transferred risk in the PFI contract to build and manage new facilities for the National Physical Laboratory and protected the taxpayer from bearing the majority of the costs of the project’s problems. Delays during the construction of the new facilities meant that the DTI did not secure the […]

  20. The Provision of Out-of-Hours Care in England

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    There were shortcomings in the process of setting up new arrangements to provide out-of-hours primary medical care in 2004, although there is no evidence that patient safety was compromised, the National Audit Office reported today. The Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) who took over responsibility for organising out-of-hours services from GPs lacked knowledge and experience in […]