Electricity networks
Published on:This report examines how effectively Ofgem has used electricity network price controls to protect consumers and achieve government’s environmental goals.
This report examines how effectively Ofgem has used electricity network price controls to protect consumers and achieve government’s environmental goals.
This report sets out the facts about the government’s support of shale gas development in England.
England and Wales have a good record in containing and eradicating major outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a key role to play in maintaining this good record but there are several ways in which it […]
The development of the national Air Quality Strategy provides a good example of modern policy-making practices, and further improvements can be made, according to a National Audit Office report. The NAO used the development of the second Air Quality Strategy (published in January 2000) to examine the policy development processes of the former Department of […]
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 article is taken from pages 14-15 of the NAO report Agricultural fraud: The case of Joseph Bowden – published February 2002 – and summarises the recommendations from this report.
The successful commercialisation of intellectual property in agricultural research requires identifying the best opportunities for commercial exploitation of publicly financed research; obtaining further funds to develop and protect ideas; and managing risks when making deals and establishing spin-out companies. These points are brought out in a National Audit Office report today on the performance of […]
A National Audit Office report today highlights research by MAFF that up to two million homes and buildings in England are in areas at risk of flooding. The key points in the report to Parliament by NAO head Sir John Bourn are that: The report acknowledges that the Environment Agency has, since its establishment in […]
With one of the longest coastlines in Europe and an economy that relies on shipping for 95 per cent of its visible trade, the UK is at particular risk from marine pollution, which can have serious consequences for people, property and the environment. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the Department […]
Water and sewerage companies have taken action to remove the risk of sewer flooding from 3,300 properties in England and Wales since 2000. Ofwat has played an important role in achieving this reduction, according to a report published today by Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office. However, Ofwat and companies face a […]
This report identifies lessons from the management and performance of the packaging recycling obligation system.
A National Audit Office report to Parliament today on the handling of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed that the outbreak cost the public sector over £3 billion and the private sector more than £5 billion. According to head of the NAO Sir John Bourn, lessons to be learned from the outbreak, unprecedented in […]
This report examines the effectiveness of regulations to ensure that food is safe and is what it says it is.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that since electricity supply competition began in September 1998 more than 6.5 million customers – one in four – have saved money by changing supplier. Domestic electricity customers as a whole have seen their electricity bills fall by some £750 million a year since […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s administration of the Arable Area Payments Scheme*. This is the largest European Union Common Agricultural Policy scheme in England with payments of £1.1 billion each year to some 47,000 farmers. The report examines the […]
A National Audit Office report today highlights the lessons arising from the case of a farmer who committed one of the largest known frauds by an individual claiming subsidy under Common Agricultural Policy schemes in England. In October 2000 Joseph Bowden was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for nine charges relating to false accounting and […]
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 […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today on the mixed success with which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is transposing European legislation uinto UK law and preparing for its implementation. Defra deals with more European legislation than any other government department, and its mixed success demonstrates how […]
Our study evaluates how far the government has an effective system for measuring progress towards its environmental objectives.
The NAO have compiled this briefing for the Environmental Audit Committee in support of the inquiry it is undertaking on the impact of UK overseas aid on environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation.