This briefing was prepared for the Members of the International Development Committee to support the Committee’s inquiry into the work of the Department for International Development in 2009-10.
This interactive briefing pack summarises the National Audit Office’s work in the police and fire sectors since 2012. It highlights the key messages coming from a selection of our recent reports and should be of interest to Police and Crime Commissioners and their officers, senior police and fire officials and the general public.
After a poor start, the performance of the Work Programme is at similar levels to previous programmes but is less than original forecast. The Department has struggled to improve outcomes for harder-to-help groups. The Programme has the potential to offer value for money if it can achieve the higher rates of performance the Department now expects.
Recent improvements to the youth justice system have contributed to reductions in recorded youth crime. However, young offenders who receive more serious community or custodial sentences remain as likely to reoffend as they were ten years ago when the youth justice system was brought in.
The disposal of former Northern Rock mortgages and loans in 2015 was the government’s largest ever financial asset sale. When judged against the Government’s objective to shrink the balance sheet swiftly the deal was value for money.
This good practice guide is designed for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to help them minimise the risk of people becoming offenders.
“Without good data, monitoring against targets becomes highly devalued. If we are to have confidence in the performance reported by government against its key objectives, it is crucial that the data systems used to monitor it are robust.”
“Train to Gain is achieving growth in training that employers value, but taxpayers have a right to expect that much more than half of the public funding should result in training that would not otherwise have occurred. Inconsistent management contributed to a slow start to the programme, followed by rapid growth and now the risk of demand exceeding budgets. We also need to see evidence that money is directed more to areas of greatest need, with training providers who do the best job for their learners and on bringing the whole range of business benefits to employers.”
The government needs to do more to demonstrate how new arrangements for training new teachers are improving the quality of teaching in classrooms.
Transformation programmes can be highly complicated and risky. This guidance assists those overseeing them by setting out questions committees should ask during set-up, delivery and live-running phases.
