The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the organisations it sponsors spend some £575 million a year buying goods and services. Today’s report to Parliament by the head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn concludes that procurement capabilities and practices amongst the organisations are, on the whole, underdeveloped and that better procurement practice […]
The Higher Education Funding Council has taken a cost-efficient approach and has delivered value for money in the context in which it has operated to date. However, the sector is facing a period of transition to a very different financial environment.
Report summarising the National Audit Office’s (NAO) investigation into the provision of supported housing in England
The Better Care Fund has not achieved the expected value for money, in terms of savings, outcomes for patients or hospital activity.
This report examines whether DCMS and Sport England have achieved value for money for spending on sport and physical activity.
Local authorities have kept up levels of capital spending but face pressure to meet debt costs and maintain investment in existing assets.
The Financial Conduct Authority is making significant changes in response to its new responsibilities and past regulatory failures, but it needs to manage the related risks if it’s to meet its commitments, including reducing and preventing financial crime, according to a new report by the National Audit Office.
Former UKAEA employees who transferred to a privatised company spent a decade seeking resolution from government after their pensions fell in value.
Substantial savings, in addition to the significant improvements already achieved, could be made by more efficient management and purchasing of postal services by the public sector, according to a report by Parliament’s spending watchdog. The National Audit Office has found that an estimated £31 million a year could be saved across the public sector by […]
There is little evidence that government’s commitment to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within 5 working days is having the intended effect of helping the UK’s 5 million small and medium-sized enterprises.
There is no collective understanding of what type of oversight is appropriate and cost effective for different types of arm’s length bodies.
This impacts case study shows how our review of the whole adult care system and the increasing pressures on its financial and service sustainability aided the debate about meeting future care needs and highlighted the need for more research to identify the most effective ways of working.
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.
We have published good practice for accurate public reporting of savings in Appendix 2 of The Efficiency and Reform Group’s role in improving public sector value for money.
This guidance has been developed from our examinations of the savings programmes in the 2004 and 2007 Spending Review periods.
The MoD has developed a strategy that identifies the estate it needs and the 25% of its estate it can dispose of by 2040. However, the strategy and current funding levels allow only for a partial reversal of the decline in the condition of the remaining estate. There is a significant risk that the poor condition of the estate will affect the Department’s ability to provide the defence capability needed.
Protecting information while re-designing public services and introducing the technology necessary to support them is an increasingly complex challenge.
Ofcom has saved some £23 million over the last five years. However, with its complex remit across the telecommunications sector, Ofcom needs a better articulation of the intended outcomes of its activities and how its work achieves those outcomes.
The creation of Ofcom, the Office of Communications, was a major challenge, demanding decisive leadership and well structured project management. There were, however, no clear measures put in place at the outset to monitor whether the merger was a success. Although data is limited, the NAO has carried out a preliminary assessment which indicates that […]
Government has opportunities to improve the efficient management of its workforce, including on recruitment, pay and performance management.
MOD has made good progress stabilising the equipment programme but needs to set out how a bespoke trading entity will transform Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) into the leading defence acquisition organisation by 2017.