The NAO found that the Charity Commission did not properly consider whether The Cup Trust met the key legal requirement of being within the jurisdiction of the High Court of England and Wales before registering it as a charity in 2009, and was slow in handling the case.
HS2 is a large, complex and ambitious programme which is facing cost and time pressures. The unrealistic timetable set for HS2 Ltd by the Department means they are not as ready to deliver as they hoped to be at this point.
This report examines whether the Bank of England has a sufficiently ambitious strategy for developing efficient and cost-effective Central Services.
MOD has made good progress stabilising the equipment programme but needs to set out how a bespoke trading entity will transform Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) into the leading defence acquisition organisation by 2017.
The Emergency Services Network is one of the most technologically advanced systems worldwide and is set to replace the existing emergency services communication system, Airwave. However several risks have been highlighted.
The NAO, Better Regulation Executive and the Better Regulation Delivery Office have published a survey into businesses’ perception of regulation.
Our report provides assurance to Parliament over the regularity and propriety of the high-value transactions generated by the 4G auction process.
The Financial Conduct Authority is making significant changes in response to its new responsibilities and past regulatory failures, but it needs to manage the related risks if it’s to meet its commitments, including reducing and preventing financial crime, according to a new report by the National Audit Office.
The National Audit Office has today published its findings on the Civil Service Learning contract with Capita Business Services Ltd (Capita). The NAO’s enquiries address specific concerns from several people who raised different but overlapping concerns about the operation of the contract.
The Department is exerting stronger oversight and sanctioning under-performing providers but there remain issues to resolve, such as more timely identification of underperformance and ineligible payments.
Cloud services’ can bring cost and performance benefits. But they can also bring new challenges and risks. To help leaders oversee decision-making and implementation of cloud services, we recently published ‘Guidance for audit committees on cloud services’. The magazine, Public Sector Executive, invited us to outline the issues in the article The National Audit Office’s guide […]
Establishing solid foundations early in the contract and commercial relationship lifecycle is critical for contracts to work. But this process starts long before contracts are signed. Two recent NAO reports provide insights into the importance of getting both the procurement strategy and process right. Experience has shown that not doing so can result in millions […]
The Government awarded, without competition, £16.6 billion worth of early contracts to eight renewable generation projects at risk of investment delay.
This report identifies lessons from the management and performance of the packaging recycling obligation system.
This is our second report on the progress Defra has made in preparing for EU Exit.
In June 2011, the National Audit Office reported on the system for enforcing consumer law and the Government subsequently made a series of reforms to the consumer landscape. This update report summarises recent changes and sets out the proposed benefits to consumers, businesses and taxpayers as well as the possible risks to be managed.
Limitations in Network Rail’s cost information has hampered the ability of the Office of Rail Regulation to assess efficiency savings.
Large-scale infrastructure spending by the private sector over ten years or more will increase consumer utility bills but government and regulators do not know by how much or whether the bills will be affordable.
In the 25 Year Environment Plan, government identified regulation as one of the key mechanisms to achieve its environmental goals. Through different regulatory bodies, Defra is already delivering a range of regulatory interventions. This study will examine how regulation is contributing towards the delivery of government’s environmental objectives.
Ofcom has made a good start in its preparations for implementing a new online safety regime, and must now manage risks around monitoring, scope and financing, according to a new report by the National Audit Office.