Most Ministry of Defence projects funded by PFI deals are delivered satisfactorily, on time and on budget. In six of the eight projects examined by the NAO, the Department has generally achieved value for money through effective allocation and management of risks. Failures to identify and manage risks reduced the value for money achieved from […]
Under the management of the Department for Transport, the process for awarding passenger Rail Franchises in England and Wales has delivered better value for money, with subsidies expected to fall. But some fares will rise above inflation and crowding for many commuters will increase in the short term until investment delivers more carrying capacity. Today’s […]
The BBC Trust today (18 March 2009) published an independent report it had commissioned from the National Audit Office on the BBC’s management of its strategic contracts with the private sector. Jeremy Peat, BBC Trustee, said: “The Trust welcomes this report from the NAO into the BBC’s strategic contracts. We are pleased that the NAO […]
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 […]
This guide helps audit and risk committee members to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on their organisations.
The Ministry of Defence’s privatisation of the defence technology business QinetiQ safeguarded the viability of a business of national strategic importance and generated significant proceeds for the taxpayer. However, the NAO believes the taxpayer could have received more money from the deal. Risks remain which the MoD must manage carefully if long term value for […]
This report examines the role played by the public bodies involved in operating and overseeing the cash system.
The Prison Service has made significant progress in the way it manages its buying of goods and services such as food, clothing and utilities, the National Audit Office has today reported. In 2003 the National Audit Office found that the Prison Service’s procurement function was “fragmented and costly to deliver”. Since this report, the Prison […]
The NAO has today reported on whether the Ministry of Defence has taken appropriate steps to make its fleet of eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters operational. The helicopters were delivered in 2001 but airworthiness concerns mean that they have been kept in storage and not flown operationally. According to today’s report to Parliament, the MoD’s progress […]
This report reviews the robustness of assumptions underpinning the Ministry of Defence’s 2020–2030 Equipment Plan.
This report assesses how the BBC has positioned itself to respond to financial and strategic challenges and opportunities.
This report examines the effectiveness of HMRC’s approach, in partnership with HM Treasury, in reducing the tax gap.
The NAO challenges government and its private sector contractors to work together more effectively in taxpayers’ interest and address the issues behind the current crisis of confidence in contracting out public services.
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 […]
An initiative, begun in 2004, by the National Offender Management Service to build a single offender management IT system for the prison and probation services has not delivered value for money. A National Audit Office investigation found the project had been hampered by poor management leading to a three-year delay, a doubling in project costs […]
This report examines the Department’s support for children’s education during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new contract for general practice has contributed to improved recruitment and retention of GPs, with numbers increasing from 26,833 to 30,931 since 2003. However, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office, the contract has cost the Department £1.76 billion more than it originally budgeted for. Today’s report found that, in […]
This report examines the government’s replacement of the COMPASS contracts for accommodation and support for asylum seekers.
Plans to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of services such as human resources, payroll and finance could cost the Department for Transport £81 million (by March 2015) rather than saving £57 million as originally expected. There will need to be substantial improvements in the shared service centre’s productivity if the Department’s original targets are to […]