The National Audit Office reported today that there was limited assurance that the price of the three Tube PPPs was reasonable, and some uncertainty about the eventual price although any price revisions have to meet tests of economy and efficiency. The complexity of the PPPs resulted from the scale of the deals, innovative output specifications […]
The National Audit Office reported today that there was limited assurance that the price of the three Tube PPPs was reasonable, and some uncertainty about the eventual price although any price revisions have to meet tests of economy and efficiency. The complexity of the PPPs resulted from the scale of the deals, innovative output specifications […]
The changes to how the Ministry of Defence maintains and repairs Harrier and Tornado aircraft have reduced costs by a total of £1.4 billion over the last six years. Although availability of the aircraft temporarily declined during the transition period, availability targets for the Harrier are now being met and for the Tornado, where the […]
The Ministry of Defence programme to replace hundreds of different IT systems with a single, secure, high quality computer infrastructure is based on a sound rationale and convincing business case. According to a National Audit Office report issued today, the Defence Information Infrastructure Programme (DII) has delivered important benefits, but has run into implementation difficulties, […]
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.
A memorandum on the provision of out-of-hours GP services in Cornwall found whistleblowers played a significant role in highlighting concerns about the service.
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 […]
The NAO has concluded in a new report published today that the tendering process for PFI projects needs improvement. During 2004-2006, PFI projects took an average of almost three years (34 months) to tender. Although there was substantial variation between sectors with schools, in particular, taking significantly less time to close deals (25 months), the […]
Delivering the National Programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an enormous challenge. All elements of the Programme are advancing and some are complete, but the original timescales for the electronic Care Records Service, one of the central elements of the Programme, turned out to be unachievable, raised unrealistic expectations and put […]
The Highways Agency successfully transferred to the private sector the risks associated with procuring a digital information system for England’s motorway network. The procurement lasted five years, however, over twice as long as the Agency originally expected, and two well qualified potential bidders dropped out during a 17 month short listing process, leaving just two […]
This is the second NAO report on government’s approach to test and trace services in England.
The public sector now has the prospect of securing a bigger share of the gains arising from the refinancing of PFI projects, under new arrangements introduced by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The OGC negotiated these measures with the private sector following earlier concerns of the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) […]
This investigation provides an account of how public money was used to increase the number of ventilators available to the NHS.
Today’s report, which is the National Audit Office’s first on the preparations for London 2012, identifies six main risk areas which may impact on the Games: Delivering the Games against an immovable deadline. The need for strong governance and delivery structures given the multiplicity of organisations and groups involved in the Games. The requirement for […]
Sure Start Children’s Centres are valued by most of the families who use them, according to the National Audit Office. The families reached by children’s centres are some of the most disadvantaged, though the early signs are that more still needs to be done to reach and support some of the most excluded groups. The […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today published a report on Network Rail which sets out a number of challenges which need to be addressed to improve the management of the rail network. Although Network Rail is making progress, its governance is complex and the support of all parties involved in the […]
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.
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.
This is our eighth report on the financial sustainability of the
NHS.