Nearly 100,000 new childcare places have been created for pre-school children since 1998 and the Government is on course to meet its targets for the provision of free part-time early education for three- and four-year-olds. But Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that more needs to be done to ensure […]
This report examines the progress made in delivering the Emergency Services Network and the
implications of the 2018 reset.
This report, our first on this subject, is a landscape review of the BBC’s commercial activities, setting out how the BBC organizes these activities and the key risks and challenges they currently face.
The National Audit Office’s report finds that London & Continental Railways (LCR) successfully completed the construction of Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) on time and at a cost slightly below the target set in the 1998 restructuring. Drawing on the reasons for this achievement, the NAO report highlights lessons for other […]
This report examines the value for money of Network Rail’s sale of a major part of its commercial real estate portfolio.
The Office of Government Commerce has done well to negotiate software licensing agreements with IT suppliers that has secured savings for the taxpayer, Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, reported today. However, it needs to publicise the benefits of the agreement more widely. Software is vital for delivering services to the […]
The introduction of new arrangements in 2000 for the funding of civil legal aid has led to better scrutiny by the Legal Services Commission of the work of its suppliers and a greater degree of control over the civil legal aid budget, according to Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office. As the […]
Young people are making complex choices about higher education without much effective help and advice, and the institutions concerned are under very little competitive pressure to provide best value.
The redevelopment of the West Middlesex hospital should assist the NHS in delivering modern, high quality healthcare in London, Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office reported to Parliament today. As a result of letting a 35 year PFI contract with a net present value of £125 million to the Bywest consortium, the […]
A report today from the National Audit Office summarises the results of the European Court of Auditors’ examination of the European Union’s accounts for 2007 and progress on the range of initiatives taken forward by the Commission and Member States. For the first time the Court provided a positive Statement of Assurance, without qualification, on […]
The PPP deal between National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and Siemens Business Services has improved customer service and has contributed to savings for the taxpayer, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today. However, Siemens Business Services and NS&I underestimated the challenge involved. Siemens Business Services has encountered a number of problems […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the National Lottery Commission had a sound basis for its decision to award the second licence to run the National Lottery to Camelot. However, he expressed concerns for the future about the extent of competition and the advantages held by the incumbent […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the costs of this project had risen from £650 million to an estimated £933 million. Although the Ministry of Defence originally considered that it had transferred the risk of cost overruns to the private sector, in the end it funded most of […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Radiocommunications Agency* has successfully entered into a partnership with CMG plc**, a global Information and Communications Technology group, which could result in significant financial savings. In June 1998 the Agency and CMG plc established a joint venture company, Radio Spectrum […]
The amount recovered has increased but NHS hospital trusts remain some way from complying in full with the requirement to recover the cost of treating overseas visitors.
This report examines whether the BBC has managed E20 in a way that is likely to achieve value for money.
We have reviewed the Army’s implementation of the Recruiting Partnering Project and its management of the contract with Capita.
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that although the Private Finance Initiative deal for the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was in many respects unique, the lessons to be learned from the project’s near collapse are not. The report makes three key points. In negotiating with the […]
Competition helps provide value for money and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses non-competitive procurement only where there are compelling reasons. It may not always be practicable or sensible to use competitive procurement, however, and over the last five years one quarter of the annual £9 billion defence equipment and services budget has been spent […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the funding competition used to finance the refurbishment of the Treasury building in Whitehall saved the taxpayer £13 million. The competition resulted in savings of 7% of the cost of the deal over the lifetime of the project and assisted greatly in […]