This report reviews developments in the sector and examines whether the Department, along with other departments with responsibility for local services, understands the impact of funding reductions on the financial and service sustainability of local authorities.
The Better Care Fund is an innovative idea but the quality of early preparation and planning did not match the scale of the ambition. Current plans forecast £314m of savings for the NHS rather than the £1 billion in early planning assumptions.
This sets out the role, costs and performance of CCGs, the changing commissioning landscape and the future of CCGs.
We found that the 2007-2011 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Board’s poor financial management and procurement of an unaffordable PFI scheme had left the Trust in a critical financial position.
This NAO impacts case study represents one example where there has been some beneficial change, whether financial or non-financial, resulting from our involvement.
Government has delayed plans to cap lifetime social care costs and scaled back plans for reforming the system it set out in December 2021.
There is broad agreement that Tamiflu reduces the length of illness, but the consensus breaks down on whether it prevents serious complications and deaths.
The Trust board’s poor financial management and procurement of an unaffordable PFI scheme have left the Trust in a critical financial position.
This Departmental Overview is one of 15 we are producing covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on the Department of Health during 2011-12.
Given the prevalence of government-funded inquiries, the frequency with which the government uses them following high-profile failures, their importance in relation to the public’s trust of authorities, and the public funds spent on them, the NAO has conducted an investigation into the 26 inquiries that have started and concluded since 2005.
The aim of this National Audit Office report is to support public bodies as they consider how to finance new public infrastructure.
The 2003 contract for hospital consultants delivered many expected benefits, but there is room for improvement in how trusts manage their consultants.
Review of a sample of the data systems underpinning the input and impact indicators in the Department of Health’s Business Plan, Common Areas of Spend and wider management information.
The Annual Report and Accounts shares details of our work and performance.
The NHS made a substantial amount of efficiency savings in 2011-12. These will need to be sustained and built on if savings targets are to be met.
Mistakes in the original procurement and contract management of an IT system, designed to extract data from GP practices, contributed to losses of public funds, through asset write-offs and settlements with suppliers.
The horsemeat incident in January 2013 exposed weaknesses in control in the food supply chain.
Diabetes care in the NHS is poor, with low achievement of treatment standards, high numbers of avoidable deaths and annual spending reaching an estimated £3.9 billion.
There is wide variation in the extent to which £79 billion in central funding allocated to local health bodies differs from target allocations that are based on relative need.
• This is NAO’s first report on funding since the 2013 health reforms took effect. Where possible comparisons have been made with funding under the previous system set out in a 2011 NAO report.
The report finds variations in health outcomes across the four nations, and will help health departments examine how better value for money could be achieved.
Benefits are expected to exceed costs slightly over the life of the systems, but there is uncertainty around whether the benefits will be realised