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.
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.
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.
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.
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme is improving access to mortgage finance, but the scheme’s costs will be substantial.
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.
It has not yet been demonstrated that funding mechanisms for supporting local economic growth are capable of delivering value for money.
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.
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.
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.
