The National Audit Office has prepared this briefing for the Home Affairs Select Committee to support the Committee’s inquiry into the new landscape of policing.
The incentives on government Accounting Officers to prioritise value for money are weak compared to those associated with the day-to-day job of satisfying Ministers.
Many NHS trusts need to tackle a range of financial, quality and governance issues if they are to meet the standards required of them to become self-governing foundation trusts by 2014. The Department of Health and the NHS will now have to decide how they will deal with those facing the most severe problems.
This report examines how government has set itself up to deliver its long-term environmental goals.
“Trusts have made good progress in the early stages of implementing the clinical governance programme. It is important, however, that they maintain the momentum that has been built up and overcome barriers in order to ensure that the National Health Service derives the intended benefits and, crucially, that patients see a clear improvement in their treatment and the quality of their healthcare.”
“Much work has been done to drive forward operational innovations within the civil service. But harnessing a new culture isn’t easy. We have found many examples of new and worthwhile changes but strong barriers to innovation remain.
Senior managers are providing leadership to change, but implementing structural changes will not be achieved by dropping initiatives from on high, but rather by creating a supportive environment where all staff are encouraged to make suggestions for change.”
This report applies experience from auditing cross-government challenges to highlight the risks government needs to manage to achieve net zero.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) and its predecessor organisation, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF), had taken action where possible to remedy underperformance by passenger train operators but that the present franchise arrangements could be improved to secure better performance. … Read more
“The FCO can do more to get value for money from its overseas estate. Although the Department has begun to remedy some of the shortcomings we identified and has started work on its strategy for managing the estate, it still needs to get the basics right. It needs to lay out the priorities for its overseas estate and work out how to get more robust information. Whilst there are examples of good practice at individual posts, the Department needs to spread this across the whole estate if it is to make real efficiencies.”
“Minimising environmental impact is recognised by government as a key criterion of good procurement. In 2008 progress was made by departments, but only some are on target to be practising sustainable procurement across their business by the end of this year. Procurement decisions need to be supported by a more thorough understanding of environmental benefits and costs, so that departments can show that their procurement meets the twin requirements of sustainability and value for money.”
Central government and its agencies, excluding the NHS, spent £54.7 billion in 2007-08 on the procurement of non-capital goods and services. In March 2008 the government created the post of Chief Sustainability Officer, supported by a Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement at the Office of Government Commerce.
