There have been improvements in the way government plans and manages public sector activity, but the NAO does not consider that there exists a coherent, enduring framework for planning and management.
This report is published alongside ‘Spending Review 2015’.
Government’s programme to transfer back-office functions to two shared service centres has made savings but has not achieved value for money to date.
This overview of the NAO’s work on the government’s management of contracting examines subjects including the government’s commercial capability, accountability and transparency, and its management of contracted-out service delivery.
If the government is serious about increasing its use of small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs), it will need to focus on those areas where SMEs can deliver real benefits.
Annual spending on consultants and temporary staff has reduced by £1.5 billion since 2010 when strict spending controls were introduced. However, annual spend is now increasing once more and is between £400 million and £600 million higher than in 2011-12.
A third of major government projects due to deliver in the next five years are rated as in doubt or unachievable unless action is taken to improve delivery. Greater transparency on project performance is required.
Since 2010 there has been an increase in the number of companies in government at the same time as a reduction in the number of public bodies which raises issues of transparency, accountability, governance and review.
This interactive publication presents the results of our survey of central government digital leaders’ views and suggests areas for further consideration.
Kids Company, a children’s charity, received at least £46m of public funding. Officials raised concerns about the charity’s cash flow and financial sustainability at least 6 times between 2002 and 2015 but the charity never reached a position where it was able to operate without government assistance.
This impacts case study shows how our investigation highlighted risks in stewardship over the use of public funds by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), which led PHSO to develop an action plan to improve procurement policy, practice and effectiveness.
It is one example of financial or non-financial benefits realised in 2014 as a result of our involvement, all of which are set out in our interactive PDF.
