This paper draws together evidence on the current landscape of charity regulation and the charity sector more generally. It was prepared for the Public Administration Select Committee.
Regulatory impact assessments (RIA) have helped contribute to better policy making and reducing the costs to business according to a National Audit Office report published today. It concludes that while there are many examples of good practice in the process of preparing RIAs across Whitehall, there is room for improvement. Presenting the report to Parliament, […]
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the organisations it sponsors spend some £575 million a year buying goods and services. Today’s report to Parliament by the head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn concludes that procurement capabilities and practices amongst the organisations are, on the whole, underdeveloped and that better procurement practice […]
NAO warns that employers continue to be affected by economic conditions that could put the success of the construction skills package at risk.
This briefing has been prepared in response to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee for an update on the Government’s sustainable procurement commitments and its progress against those commitments.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the progress that departments and their agencies have made to their construction delivery performance since his 2001 report “Modernising Construction”. He concluded that there had been a considerable improvement in completing projects to time and cost and that real savings were being delivered, […]
The public sector could save annually over £220 million in food and catering costs by 2010-11, while raising nutritional standards and increasing sustainability, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has reported today. In particular, there is significant scope for improvement by increasing joined up procurement, implementing good practice, enhancing the roles and […]
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 […]
Passengers’ satisfaction with Britain’s railway stations has improved a little in recent years, but remains low for many stations and for many of the facilities provided at them, according to a report by the National Audit Office. There are also increasing passenger capacity pressures at some of the largest stations during peak periods. There is […]
The head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn reported today on the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). His report acknowledges the considerable potential and early success of CMI and identifies important lessons for departments on setting up and managing innovative ventures in the future. CMI, a company jointly owned by Cambridge University and the Massachusetts […]
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 […]
This report examines the implementation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
This investigation sets out how MHCLG is overseeing the remediation of dangerous cladding under its Building Safety Programme.
The Ministry of Defence’s £2.4 billion programme to transform battlefield communications, command and control through the joint introduction of Bowman digital radios and the advanced Combat Infrastructure Platform (CIP) to an exacting 30 month timescale, has been recast. A revised programme and a further £121 million of funding have been approved to deliver the capabilities […]
This report assesses whether the apprenticeships programme is providing value for money.
Affordable housing is a priority for local authorities and Government, with £3.3 billion being invested between 2004 and 2006, and further increases planned. Most local authorities believe, however, that they will not meet the need for affordable housing in the next three years. This was the key finding of a study undertaken by the Audit […]
Government investment in science requires strategic vision and clear information so that it can ensure the UK is investing in the right areas. Our report is accompanied by an Evaluative Framework to guide effective cross-government coordination.
Overview The National Audit Office published today its “gold standard” for project control of major defence projects. This aims to help the MoD improve its performance in delivering projects on time and to budget. It forms part of a second in a suite of studies exploring key project success factors and how the MoD and […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the Home Office’s Immigration and Nationality Directorate has increased its capacity for removing failed asylum applicants but the number of people removed or returning voluntarily each month is still less than the number of unsuccessful cases (Based on the period April to December […]
This interim report provides an overview of test and trace services for addressing COVID-19 in England.