The Regional Growth Fund
The £1.4 billion funding could result in 41,000 extra full-time equivalent private sector jobs but thousands more could have been created from the same resources.
11 May 2012
The government has given councils and communities more power to decide how to spend their funding to meet local priorities and drive growth. Councils are now accountable for their spending through various checks and balances, with reduced reporting burdens.
At the same time, councils now have around 37% less central government funding than in 2010. As a result, their financial future is uncertain, and effective service delivery is under threat. Government also has less direct information about whether local spending achieves the intended outcomes and delivers value for money.
Key areas in which the NAO can share lessons and good practice across government are in Accountability in local service delivery; Commissioning services; and Financial and service sustainability.
Key NAO publications:
The £1.4 billion funding could result in 41,000 extra full-time equivalent private sector jobs but thousands more could have been created from the same resources.
By operating in a more integrated way, government could reduce inefficiencies in public services and deliver a better service to citizens. A case study on the Whole-Place Community Budget pilots points to the potential benefits on offer where public services are integrated more effectively.
Although new organisations set up as part of the reformed health system were ready to start functioning on time, the transition to the system is not yet complete.
Two government programmes aiming to help families with multiple challenges, such as unemployment and anti-social behaviour, are starting to provide benefits but considerable challenges remain.
It has not yet been demonstrated that funding mechanisms for supporting local economic growth are capable of delivering value for money.
Improvements have been made to the running of the Regional Growth Fund, but there is still a significant amount of public money to allocate through the Fund.
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme is improving access to mortgage finance, but the scheme’s costs will be substantial.
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.
Although some areas of the NHS in England are achieving value for money for out-of-hours GP services, this is not the case across the board.
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.