Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the failure to introduce the Benefits Payment Card had cost the Department of Social Security some £127 million in nugatory system development. Delays in the Card programme, which was part of a pioneering Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project designed also to […]
The DWP has had to delay the Personal Independence Payment programme’s roll-out and reduce expected savings during this Spending Review period.
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has experienced delays and is expected to deliver 32 of the intended target of 40 new hospitals by 2030.
MOD’s procurement budget is now more stable, despite a £754m increase in the cost of the carriers, but there are still risks to the affordability of the equipment plan.
In December 2015 a five year contract, worth around £800 million between UnitingCare Partnership and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough clinical commissioning group collapsed after only 8 months because it ran into financial difficulties. NAO examined the design, procurement and operation of the contract and the events that led to its termination.
Inadequate forecasting is an entrenched problem for government departments, leading to poor value for money and increased costs for the taxpayer.
Treasury expects all departments to evaluate the ex post impacts and costs of all their interventions, including spending, taxation and regulation. This activity should provide valuable information on the cost-effectiveness of government interventions, for the purposes of accountability and to learn lessons to improve current and future policies.
Oftel has taken steps to improve consumer awareness in the fixed line telecommunications market to help consumers take advantage of the choices available, according to a report presented to Parliament today by Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office. But the report recognises that while some consumers will choose not to switch […]
The jobcentre network has coped well in the economic downturn, but must improve performance measures if it is to support claimants effectively.
This report sets out the NAO’s assessment of the delivery of the electronic monitoring (‘tagging’) transformation programme.
This report examines whether Defra is well placed to redevelop the UK’s primary site for managing threats from animal diseases.
Measures to encourage people to save for retirement are not being managed by Departments with enough coherence or accountability.
HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) contract with Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd was terminated in November 2016. The contract was designed to add capacity to HMRC’s programme of interventions to prevent or detect error and fraud in personal tax credits awards. HMRC estimated that the contract would save £1 billion over its three year life time and an estimated £193 million, excluding Concentrix’s costs, had been saved by the time of contract termination.
The Charity Commission has made early progress in addressing NAO and Public Accounts Committee recommendations, but significant challenges remain.
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 […]
The strategic case for HS2, in terms of increasing rail capacity and generating regional growth, has still to be demonstrated clearly.
By operating in a more integrated way, government could reduce inefficiencies in public services and deliver a better service to citizens.