The amount of money being spent by government on external consultants has fallen slightly since 2006-07. However, government is not getting value for money from its use of consultants because it often lacks the information, skills and strategies to manage them effectively.
DEFRA has delivered some value from the £39.3 million spent on its geographic information strategy and activities. However, a lack of financial information means that the NAO cannot determine that value for money has been achieved.
The role of assurance is to provide information to those that sponsor, govern and manage a project to help them make better informed decisions which reduce the causes of project failure, promote the conditions for success and deliver improved outcomes.
The BBC’s approach to the early stages of its Digital Media Initiative (DMI) was disappointing and did not achieve value for money. However, since taking the Programme back in house, delivery of the system has progressed well, with users responding positively.
Greig Sharman will be joining the NAO as its new Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) on 1 October 2026.
HMRC has taken significant steps to improve the efficiency of National Insurance administration, but needs to demonstrate more clearly that it is providing value for money from the £350 million it spends each year and take advantage of opportunities to secure further savings.
This report examines how effectively HM Passport Office managed the service in 2022 after the lifting of COVID travel restrictions.
This report considers the readiness of the government to deliver its ambitions for digital transformation in the NHS in England.
The National Audit Office has identified errors in specialist pay, allowances and expenses paid to the Armed Forces via their Payroll and Human Resources system, as well as the inadequacy of evidence to support certain fixed assets and stock balances in the financial statements. For this reason, the Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his […]
The Rural Payments Agency and DEFRA have shown scant regard to protecting public money in their administration and management of the EU’s Single Payment Scheme in England, according to the National Audit Office. The IT system does not meet the scheme’s needs, the cost of processing claims, already very high, has continued to increase and […]
Government faces increasing pressure to do more with fewer financial resources and, with challenges such as climate change and an ageing population, will require innovation in public services. Since 2006, when the National Audit Office last reported to Parliament on innovation in central government, departments have started to implement some of the report’s recommendations and […]
HM Courts Service has taken practical steps to improve the use of the Crown Court’s existing resources but a number of risks to value for money remain, the National Audit Office has today reported. The Crown Court operates from around 500 court rooms at almost 100 locations around England and Wales. In 2007 it heard […]
This report sets out the lessons for government and departments to learn from the experience of implementing digital change.
The public sector should plan more carefully how it disposes of its growing volume of personal computers and associated equipment, according to a report out today by the National Audit Office. The efficient, legal and socially responsible disposal of such equipment is an increasingly important issue for the public sector. Many public bodies have limited […]
The BBC Executive did not have a sufficient grip on its Digital Media Initiative programme. Nor did it commission a thorough independent assessment to see whether it was technically sound.
The Rural Payments Agency has made good progress, but still has more to do to resolve all the problems it experienced in administering the 2005 EU single payment scheme to farmers in England, according to a report by the National Audit Office. It succeeded in meeting the June 2007 deadline for paying claims under the […]
This report assesses the Home Office’s progress in delivering the National Law Enforcement Data Service programme to replace outdated police ICT systems.
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 […]
The successful introduction of IT systems is a crucial element in major Government programmes to deliver better services to the public -whether through providing new services, making existing services more efficient and responsive to citizens’ needs, or improving organisational performance. A report published today by the National Audit Office identifies common threads in IT-enabled programmes […]