Search results for 'Science and innovation'

Clear all filters

Showing 241 - 260 of 321 results

  2. Ministry of Defence – Battlefield Helicopters

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Pooling the Royal Navy’s, Army’s and Royal Air Force’s battlefield helicopters has brought significant benefits, Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today. Efficiencies have been produced through a joined up approach, by standardising procedures and removing duplication, but there is a large shortfall in helicopter capability and further improvements […]

  3. Modernising procurement

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on Government procurement. Some 1,500 staff spend some £13billion each year on civil procurement across government. Procurement is therefore big business and getting it right is central to the management of any organisation. The report focuses on the scope for improved procurement […]

  4. The Refinancing of the Norfolk and Norwich PFI Hospital: How the deal can be viewed in the light of the refinancing

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today reported that, following improvements in PFI financing terms, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust has shared in the gains from a refinancing of its early PFI hospital contract, but it continues to pay a premium in respect of the financing costs compared to current deals. […]

  5. Office for National Statistics: Outsourcing the 2001 Census

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today on the difficulties faced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in outsourcing elements of the 2001 Census. The Census is expected to deliver good quality population data within the overall budget of £207 million. However, the appointment of professional advisors was […]

  6. Progress on 15 Major Capital Projects Funded by Arts Council England

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that an examination of 15 major capital projects funded by Arts Council England shows that most are delivering the intended benefits in terms of, for example, the number of performances and productions, the level of visitors, and the quality of the new facilities. […]

  7. Progress on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    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 […]

  9. Refinancing the Public Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the refinancing of the public private partnership for NATS, completed late last year, has put the Company on a much more robust financial footing, enabling it to make further vital investment to expand the capacity of Air Traffic Control to meet future growth […]

  10. PFI: The STEPS Deal

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office today reported to Parliament on the £1.5 billion Strategic Transfer of the Estate to the Private Sector (STEPS) PFI deal entered into by Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise with a private sector consortium known as Mapeley STEPS. The deal incorporates the transfer of the ownership […]

  11. Modernising Procurement in the Prison Service

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today that the Prison Service has made good progress in improving its procurement of goods and services but that scope exists for further financial savings to be made.  Performance in monitoring and controlling the consumption of goods and use of services and […]

  12. Transforming performance of HM Customs and Excise through electronic service delivery

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Also available: Incentivization of e-government (404 kb). HM Customs and Excise’s major programme to use e-technology to improve the efficiency of their business operations and services, although at an early stage, is already showing signs of being able to transform the department’s performance. However, today’s report to Parliament by head of the National Audit Office […]

  13. Network Rail’s sale of railway arches

    Press release

    Published on:

    This report examines the value for money of Network Rail’s sale of a major part of its commercial real estate portfolio.

  14. Purchasing and Managing Software Licences

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    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 […]

  15. The BBC: Collecting the television licence fee

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office reported today that there has been a downward trend in TV Licence fee evasion. But evasion is costing the BBC an estimated £141 million a year in lost revenue, and more on some estimates. This is equivalent to an extra £6 being available to the BBC […]

  16. The Public Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services Ltd

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported today that the public private partnership for NATS contains many positive elements. But the financial position of the Company will need strengthening to enable it to make further vital investment to expand the capacity of Air Traffic Control. In its study of the PPP for […]

  18. Awarding the new licence to run the National Lottery

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    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 […]

  19. PFI: Construction Performance

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    Most construction work under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is being delivered on time and at the cost expected by the public sector. Central government has generally obtained a much higher degree of price certainty and timely delivery of good quality built assets, compared to previous conventional government building projects, Sir John Bourn, Head of […]

  20. Ministry of Defence: The Construction of Nuclear Submarine Facilities at Devonport

    Report Value for money

    Published on:

    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 […]