HMRC has improved how it manages debts owed to it by taxpayers, according to a report by the National Audit Office. The amount of money owed has reduced from 4.3 per cent of tax collected in 2005-06 to 3.8 per cent in 2007-08. The age of the direct tax debt has also reduced. Over the […]
The first Road Investment Strategy represents an important step forward towards better long-term planning of the strategic road network. However, the speed with which it was put together created risks to deliverability, affordability and value for money.
Government has gaps in its capability and must do more to develop the skills needed. It is making plans, but the scale of the challenge means greater urgency is needed.
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 […]
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 […]
The approach to reducing the cost of regulation is set up to ensure that government can hit a £10bn target but misses the point by not truly reducing costs on businesses.
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 […]
The Government’s investment in large scientific facilities is starting to deliver a significant programme including such projects as the research ship RRS James Cook and the Diamond Synchrotron light source, according to an NAO report published today. Some project teams, however, have significantly underestimated the likely running costs of facilities and more attention needs to […]
Crisis Resolution Home Treatment teams are having a positive impact on local acute mental health services, providing an alternative to hospital admission for people experiencing a short-term mental health crisis. But a report out today by the National Audit Office found that services are being limited by a lack of input from specialist health and […]
Protecting information while re-designing public services and introducing the technology necessary to support them is an increasingly complex challenge.
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 […]
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 […]
The National Audit Office has today published the findings from its investigation into the Department for Transport’s (the Department’s) progress in implementing the South East Flexible Ticketing Programme (the Programme). In January 2012, the Department set up the Programme to improve coordination, speed up delivery and increase take up of smart ticketing. The Department was […]
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 […]
Head of the NAO Sir John Bourn reported to Parliament today that he has qualified 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 expenditure, a significant limitation in the evidence made available to the NAO during […]
Shared service centres in the NHS and HM Prison Service are on course to deliver substantial financial savings. But a report out today by the National Audit Office found that central government was initially slow to adopt shared services. While the momentum has picked up it is not clear that the shared services initiative is […]
The National Audit Office has examined the role of of the Department for Transport in assessing the revised proposals for light rail schemes in Leeds, Manchester and South Hampshire. Funding for these three schemes was originally approved by the Department in 2000 and 2001. But substantial increases in projected costs led to the Department withdrawing […]
The first independent report into operational innovation in central government has found that, although a deep rooted culture of risk aversion is being tackled and improvements in quality and efficiency of service are being made, government bodies could still secure greater benefits and efficiencies with more innovative and progressive approaches. The NAO report published today […]
Clarification Point 2 in the C&AG introduction (page 26), should read: “From April 2003 an additional one per cent National Insurance contribution has been collected and allocated directly to the National Health Service, bringing the total payments to the NHS to some £16.8 billion in 2004-2005 (£14.9 billion in 2003-2004).” Head of the National Audit […]
Red Dragon – a project by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Welsh Assembly Government and the then Welsh Development Agency (the Welsh Authorities) to provide modern aviation repair facilities at St Athan, South Wales – has cost the taxpayer around £113 million, although it was meant to have saved MOD money and protected jobs in […]