Probation services have been restructured on time and within cost targets during a period of major change but operational problems and risks to further service transformation need to be resolved if re-offending levels are to reduce.
This report outlines the importance of recognising and adequately managing conflicts of interest.
We help Parliament hold government to account for spending public money and, in so doing, drive improvements in public services. To achieve this, we provide system wide, integrated and independent public audit, drawing on the distinctive framework of rights set out for us by Parliament.
The Whole of Government Accounts consolidates the public sector’s accounts to produce a picture of the UK’s public finances.
The NAO reports on the use of confidentiality clauses and severance payments in three more areas of government.
The NAO has called for government to negotiate greater access to information about how much outsourced public services are actually costing suppliers and therefore how much profit they are making.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the £1.2 billion expansion of the PRIME contract, that DWP had succeeded in getting the deal it had set out to achieve. The decision to proceed via a non-competitive negotiation with LST was the right one. DWP introduced competitive tension into […]
This report considers the effectiveness of the UK government’s cross-border travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report is a detailed review of government contracts let to Randox between January 2020 and December 2021.
The newly-created Competition and Markets Authority has made significant progress in improving how the UK’s competition regime works, and it is now more coherent than before. Business awareness of competition law, however, is low and while it has improved the robustness of its enforcement casework, the regime has so far not produced a substantial flow of enforcement decisions or fines.
Payment by results (PbR) schemes are hard to get right, and are risky and costly for commissioners. Credible evidence for claimed benefits of PbR is now needed.
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, reported to Parliament today that there has been progress in capturing for the nation more of the economic and social benefits of scientific research funded by the taxpayer. Commercialisation can range from making research outputs available to all, free of charge, to forming companies to develop innovative […]
This investigation examines the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund announced in July 2020.
Despite funding and staffing levels for mental health services increasing, and more patients being treated, millions of people with mental health needs are still not accessing services, with some facing lengthy waits for treatment, according to a new National Audit Office report.
Over 10 million people who used public services (about 1 in 5) in the UK last year faced problems with the services. Detriment can and does occur. But users find the complaints and redress systems confusing.
This report examines the causes of persistent delays and cost increases that have affected the Ministry of Defence’s equipment contracts.
HMRC and the Treasury do not know if incentives designed to increase charitable giving, at a cost to the taxpayer of £940 million in 2012-13, have resulted in more income for charities.
In the context of more than 1 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lacking basic sanitation facilities, the Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) projects to improve access to water and sanitation in developing countries have been largely successful, the National Audit Office reports today. Between 1997 and 2002 DFID […]
This investigation sets out how MHCLG is overseeing the remediation of dangerous cladding under its Building Safety Programme.
This report examines the Department for Education’s evaluation of the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme.