It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.
The Charity Commission is not regulating charities effectively. It fails to take tough action in some serious cases and makes poor use of its powers.
The economic case for the smart metering programme remains positive but there are significant risks and challenges to successful implementation, which must be managed.
This new report responds to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee to examine local government and net zero.
The Department for Work and Pensions has not yet achieved value for money in managing contracted-out health and disability assessments.
The Service has achieved value for money for debt advice but has not yet shown that its money advice is achieving value for money.
Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on NHS finances, NHS England has not controlled the rising cost of specialised services.
The National Audit Office outlines eight principles that the government needs to consider if it is to achieve value for money when deciding prices in markets for public services.
In March 2013, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, along with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed in a statement in the House of Commons that the government has drawn on our analysis as it develops a new regulatory regime for consumer credit markets.
This NAO impacts case study represents one example where there has been some beneficial change, whether financial or non-financial, resulting from our involvement.
HS2 is a large, complex and ambitious programme which is facing cost and time pressures. The unrealistic timetable set for HS2 Ltd by the Department means they are not as ready to deliver as they hoped to be at this point.
The NAO found that the Charity Commission did not properly consider whether The Cup Trust met the key legal requirement of being within the jurisdiction of the High Court of England and Wales before registering it as a charity in 2009, and was slow in handling the case.
This report sets out the landscape of oil and gas decommissioning.
Since privatisation, Ofwat and Defra have overseen major improvements in water quality and service quality. Customers have seen a marked rise in bills but not the benefits of companies’ unexpected financial gains.
Review of a sample of the data systems underpinning the input and impact indicators in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Business Plan, Common Areas of Spend and wider management information.
This review was carried out on the 2012-15 Business Plan. Revised Business Plans were issued in June 2013.
The NAO, the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) and the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), both part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have published a survey looking at businesses’ perceptions of regulation.
The Emergency Services Network is one of the most technologically advanced systems worldwide and is set to replace the existing emergency services communication system, Airwave. However several risks have been highlighted.
MOD has made good progress stabilising the equipment programme but needs to set out how a bespoke trading entity will transform Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) into the leading defence acquisition organisation by 2017.
Under the Scheme, the Treasury guarantees that lenders to infrastructure projects will be repaid in full and on time, irrespective of project performance. The NAO is calling for the Treasury to be rigorous and objective in assessing whether the guarantees, which transfer risk to the public sector, are genuinely needed.
The range of government initiatives to help small and medium businesses gain access to finance are not operating as a unified programme.
Our report provides assurance to Parliament over the regularity and propriety of the high-value transactions generated by the 4G auction process.